SQ Drabbles
by Chrmdpoet
Summary: A collection of drabbles and one-shots based off of tumblr prompts I have received. ALL Swan Queen. MULTIPLE Genres (romance, hurt/comfort, angst, fluff, drama, crack, humor, tragedy). Prompts are listed above each drabble, and any trigger warnings required are included beforehand as well. Each chapter is a stand-alone drabble. No related, continued pieces. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**PROMPT: REGINA AND/OR EMMA'S FIRST 'I LOVE YOU'**

Nearly six months. That's how long the Savior had been warming Regina's bed. That's how long the Savior had been learning and reveling in her body. That's how long the Savior had been sharing meals and sharing movies, sharing laughter and even tears. That's how long the Savior had been taking her to dinner, taking her on picnics, taking her for walks along the beach. That's how long the Savior had been touching her, slipping warm arms around her waist and squeezing as if she mattered, as if she was quite possibly the only thing that mattered in those moments.

That's how long Emma Swan had been healing the Evil Queen's heart.

Six months, and Regina knew. It crept in on her and then devoured her all at once. It was slow, so slow, building and caressing, aching and soothing, growing and growing and growing. It was slow, but then it was like barreling down a snow-covered hill—fast and thrilling and maybe a bit terrifying. That's how Regina had fallen in love.

That's how she had begun her happy ending.

Six months of joy, of slow exploration, of perfectly imperfect growth somehow felt stronger, more powerful, louder, more significant than any number of years she had spent in her misery. Six months of loving Emma Swan and being loved in return felt like a revelation Regina could hardly put words to, and none presented in her mind.

Except perhaps three she had yet to say.

So, after six months of smiles and awkward family dinners and pointless arguments and passionate lovemaking and kisses and kisses and kisses that Regina felt in her soul, the former Evil Queen rolled over in bed and reached for the warmth of a body still deep in slumber.

"Emma," she whispered as she simultaneously scooted across the minute gap and pulled the woman closer to her.

"Mm?" Emma mumbled, turning into Regina's comfortable and familiar embrace. "S'matter?"

"Nothing," Regina answered in a quiet breath. "Everything is perfect."

Emerald eyes slowly fluttered open as Emma pulled back just enough to latch onto Regina's gaze. Regina pressed a feather-light kiss to the blonde's nose and whispered, "I love you."


	2. Chapter 2

**PROMPT: AU. EMMA AND REGINA ARE IN COLLEGE. THEY MEET OVER SPRING BREAK ON A BEACH SOMEWHERE.**

"You _cannot_ say no to this."

Emma sighed as she lay back in the soft hammock outside the beach bungalow. "Pretty sure I can, Rubes."

"It's the Spring Break Beach Bonfire," Ruby whined. "Everyone who is anyone goes. Why did you even come down here with me for Spring Break if you weren't gonna go to the parties?!"

"Because you wouldn't stop whining," Emma told her, chuckling, "kind of like now."

"Why don't you want to go?"

"Because a drunken beach fire where I'm just going to be left on my own while you run off with your flavor of the night sounds lame as hell," Emma answered. "I won't know anyone, and I hate having to fend off tipsy guys who are fully clothed, let alone tipsy guys who are already halfway naked on the beach and thinking every chick wants them."

Ruby glares at her. "You used to be way more fun, you know?" she teases, poking at Emma's shoulder as she stands next to the hammock. "We had a blast freshman and sophomore year at the U, and now that we're seniors, we're supposed to be living it up, but you just want to study and sleep all the time."

"Maybe because some of us aren't general studies majors," Emma deadpanned. "I have essays constantly. I'm tired."

"So let loose tonight," Ruby told her. "Get out all of that stress for a night and then you can go back to being a boring essayist who never leaves the dorm when we get back to the U Sunday night."

Emma let out a long sigh. "Fine. If it will get you to shut up, I'll go."

"Yes," Ruby exclaimed, fist-pumping. "We're gonna have a blast."

"Sure we will," Emma drawled, closing her eyes and trying to let herself drift off into a sun-soaked nap.

* * *

Emma sipped at her beer as she sat on a fairly large log of driftwood just to the right of the massive beach bonfire. Ruby had already run off with some bleached blonde "hottie with a body" as she put it, and so Emma was left alone to watch the enormous crowd of college students celebrate Spring Break.

There were people from all different places there. Ruby had mentioned something about meeting a few girls from universities not too far from their own, which Emma wasn't terribly surprised by. This was a Spring Break hotspot for college students after all. She still couldn't believe Ruby had talked her into coming, but then again, Ruby talked her into a lot of things she later regretted.

Emma watched various people stumbling in the sand, too drunk to keep their balance and it was only early evening. It hadn't even gotten fully dark out yet. Others were dancing to the music blaring from the DJ set up in the back of a pick-up truck that had been driven right out into the sand. Guys and girls gyrating on each other. Girls gyrating on other girls. Even a few guys gyrating on other guys. It was a mass of sweaty bodies, loud music, drunken shouts, animated laughter, and reluctant goodbyes to youth. It was crazy.

Emma finished up her beer, grabbed another from the nearest cooler, and headed off toward the water. She walked along the beach, away from the bonfire and the rave surrounding it, and just let the rolling lullaby of the ocean drown out the sounds behind her.

She walked a good distance, the breeze growing cooler as the sky darkened. She lifted her head to let that breeze drift across her face, and that's when she saw that she wasn't alone.

A little distance ahead of her, Emma saw the figure of a young woman, clad in a dark bikini with a sheer skirt flowing around her legs and short, dark hair blowing in the breeze, seated atop the sand. The woman looked up as Emma drew a little nearer, and they locked gazes in the growing dark.

"Hey," Emma said with a polite nod of her head.

"Hello," the other woman replied, and something about the raw depth of her voice, the light that somehow shone in her dark eyes, made Emma linger.

"You, uh, you here for the party?" Emma asked, digging the toes of her bare feet into the sand as she rocked on her heels in front of the other woman. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail and still managed to blow in her face, and her skin was chilled beneath the open button-up shirt and white tank top over bermuda shorts. Still, she stood with her back to the ocean and let the breeze embrace her as she tried to strike up a conversation with this lonely stranger.

"I was," the other woman answered quietly. "It got a little loud. You?"

"Same," Emma answered, chuckling. "Can I, uh…would you mind?" She pointed to the sand beside the dark-haired woman and raised her brows.

"If you'd like," was the answer she received, and so Emma waddled over and plopped down onto the beach beside the other woman. "Name's Emma," she said as she switched her beer to her left hand and held out her right.

The other woman stared at her hand for a long moment before reaching forward and delicately gripping Emma's fingers. They shook softly. "Regina," she responded, and Emma smiled at her in the glowing moonlight.

"Regina," she repeated. "Nice to meet you. So, you're on Spring Break?"

"Mm," Regina hummed, nodding.

"Me too," Emma told her. "I didn't want to come, but my roommate convinced me since we're graduating this year and everything."

"I am as well," Regina responded, smiling. "My friend, Kathryn, had to goad me into this trip also. I'm typically more focused on my studies."

"Yeah?" Emma asked. "What's your major?"

"I'm a double-major," Regina told her. "Pre-law and Political Science."

"Oh wow," Emma said, nodding. "That's quite the undertaking."

"Mm," Regina hummed again, and Emma's stomach flipped pleasantly at the soft sound. "What about you?"

"English lit," Emma told her. "Ton of essays. It's a pain."

"I've written a fair share, myself," Regina said, chuckling, "so I empathize."

"Yeah…" Emma took a long swig of her beer as silence grew between them then, the conversation having petered out.

"So…" Emma said, sighing, once she could no longer handle the silence. "You weren't feeling the party? No guys catching your eye or anything? I'm sure they were all up on you."

Regina just sort of snorted with soft laughter, a sound that Emma found incredibly cute. "Is that right?"

"Well, it's dark out here but from what I can see," Emma told her, "yeah. You'd definitely catch some attention."

Regina smiled, ducking her head a bit. "Well thank you," she answered softly, "but considering the fact that I'm gay, I hardly think attention garnered by drunken college boys would warrant a desire to linger in the crowd."

Emma just sort of gaped at her for a minute. "For real?" she asked then, and Regina merely smirked at her and nodded. Emma then chuckled and said, "Well damn, that is a crazy coincidence."

"What is?"

Emma laughed again as she took a sip of her beer before saying, "I'm gay, too."

Regina's brows lifted in surprise. "Coincidence indeed," she whispered after a long moment.

Emma just laughed again before leaning over and nudging Regina's shoulder with her own. "So, Regina, tell me about yourself…"

* * *

They talked all night, eventually rising from their place in the sand and walking along the beach together, back and forth for miles, until their legs gave out and they collapsed again. They huddled a little closer together in the cool breeze of the morning and the faint light of the rising sun, both surprised at how quickly the night had flown by.

"Wow," Emma whispered. "Can't believe it's dawn already."

Regina nodded and turned to look at the blonde beside her. "I can see you now," she said quietly, a smile playing at her lips.

Emma chuckled. "Yup, and I can see you."

"And?" Regina asked. "Do you still think I would warrant attention?"

Emma sucked in a soft breath, her heart fluttering in her chest. She had talked with this woman all night long, a perfect stranger, and yet she had discovered that they seemed to have so much in common. They came from completely different places, entirely different backgrounds and beliefs, but they clicked. They had common interests and ideals, they strangely both liked to put ranch dressing on their pizza, and Regina actually laughed at Emma's corny jokes. Emma was completely enamored with this girl.

"Absolutely," she whispered, smiling at the brunette. "Even more so."

Regina blushed beautifully in the dawn and quietly said, "Likewise."

They chuckled awkwardly, both their voices tired and raspy from hours of conversation in the cool night air. "I really should get some sleep," Emma finally said after a long moment of silence. "Our flight leaves in like eight hours, and I still have to pack."

Regina nodded solemnly. "I should go as well."

Neither moved, both glancing back up at each other, and laughing awkwardly. "Is it weird that I just want to stay?" Emma asked.

Regina smiled softly at her and leaned in a little closer. "Is it weird that I wish you would kiss me?" she whispered, and Emma's heart pounded.

"Is it weird that I _want_to kiss you?" she asked as their heads leaned in a little further, their breaths ghosting over lips in gentle puffs.

Regina smiled almost against Emma's lips as she asked, "Is it weird that you are still talking and not simply doing it?"

"Yup," Emma said, gulping, and then her lips were on Regina's, soft and firm, gentle and pressing. It was chaste, but it felt powerful somehow, like it somehow altered something in both of them. When they broke apart, Emma was surprised to feel a pang of sorrow rip through her chest.

"Regina," she whispered, "will I ever see you again?"

Regina sighed against her lips and pressed once more. "I hope so, Emma."


	3. Chapter 3

**PROMPT: SELF-HARM FIC.**

**TRIGGER WARNING: Graphic description of self-harm/self-mutilation, brief mention of marital rape.**

Pain. Regina's entire life had revolved around pain, had been defined by it. Every pivotal moment, every minor disturbance, every profound experience.

She first learned the stinging hiss of its touch at age seven. That was the first time her mother, Cora, had ever flicked a wrist in her direction. The sudden shocking burn snapped across the back of her small hand, the limb jerking back from the pantry where she shouldn't have been snooping for snacks. It had been quick, hard, invisible—a cracking sound accompanied by a tearing open of flesh that pulled a whimpering howl from between her lips, and then…it was gone.

Cora's magic could heal as quickly as it could harm.

That first magical punishment seemed to spark a fire in her mother, and they came more often after that, growing in weight and force and effect with the passing years. Sometimes, her flesh was maimed for no more than a biting glare in her mother's direction.

Pain. It grew beyond a burden. It evolved from a nuisance, from a hardship, into a study. Regina studied it well. She learned it like a language as it was engraved along the lines of her body. Her flesh was a tan and crimson scroll decorated with its poetry.

She learned it like a lover—intimate, defined yet fluid, and always familiar.

Eventually, it lost its original purpose. It became more friend than foe. It became a comfort—the most exact knowledge Regina possessed, and in knowledge, she found relief and security.

In the days when Cora would spare her punishment, Regina found herself mourning the loss, until eventually, she took to inflicting it upon herself. She needed that routine, that familiarity. She had become warped by it. She needed the comfort of the one thing that both reminded her of home and offered her escape.

The first time was tricky. It was messy. It was too much.

She had held her foot over the burning wick of a candle, the searing heat comforting at first, but then it grew hot, too hot. Within seconds, her flesh pinked and bubbled, and Regina hissed with the pain of it, but she didn't pull away. She needed that pain. She needed the relief, the familiarity. So, she held her foot there until she could no longer stand it.

The delicate flesh on the bottom of her foot was both red and black, pebbled and bleeding, melted and ragged and so raw that it sent tears spilling down Regina's cheeks.

Her mother discovered the burn within hours, Regina's inability to walk properly tipping her off quickly. Cora had scolded her while healing the burn, and Regina found she felt almost empty with the loss of it.

She was more successful the second time. It was cleaner, easier, and less noticeable. A dagger to the inside of her thigh—easily hidden and stinging for days. It became a frequent occurrence after that.

She was forced to admit this to her mother on the eve of her wedding, her mother's magic required to vanish the scars before the King could lay eyes upon them. Regina had been mortified and yet, she didn't regret a single cut. Those cuts had kept her sane. They had somehow set her free—even if for only seconds at a time.

As she learned magic, she was able to pick up the habit again, able to heal her own wounds and erase the evidence. Once again, it kept her sane. It kept her sane as she mourned the death of her first love. It kept her sane as she fought back the vile images in her mind of an elder king thrusting atop her, into her. It kept her sane when the loneliness crept in so forcefully, so deeply that she felt as if she might never be able to dig it out of her. Pain was her friend then. It was her only friend.

The more she kept up the habit, though, the harder she had to press for relief, the more forceful she had to become. Her body had grown numb to the effects. Her soul had gone as cold and dark as her heart was claimed to be—a heart befitting her title: The Evil Queen.

She elevated her efforts. She would sometimes strip herself bare in her chambers, brace her body against the cool stone of the wall, and use her magic to whip herself; the invisible strips slashing viciously into the flesh of her back, and Regina would merely bite into her bottom lip and endure each one. She would revel in them, because it was no longer about escape.

It was now about feeling. She needed to feel something, and pain? Well, it had never let her down before. She knew if she could just reunite with it again, she could have those few moments of relief. She could remember, _remind _herself, that she was still human. She was still alive.

Magic, of course, slipped from her fingertips as she rippled through time and landed in another realm. Without it, Regina was back to square one.

She was high on the thrill of the curse for a while, not needing the pain to ignite a beat in her chest, a fire in her belly. She had her vengeance for that. She had the timid bend of Snow White's spine. She had victory.

But then it faded. It grew cold and gray just like every other burst of joy Regina had ever known, and she was back to being numb. She was back to being lonely. She was back to needing the pain, her old friend.

The sting of the blade grating against the flesh of her inner thigh was almost too much after months of pain's absence. Instead of retreating, though, Regina only pressed harder. Her skin parted at the tip of the blade, crimson bubbling up and over the open edge and slipping slowly down her thighs in gentle, warm streams.

The color always shocked her—that dark red that grew brighter and more vibrant as it met the air. Regina sometimes expected to slice her flesh and bleed the blackest blood—tar spilling from her veins; the evidence of the horrid person she had become.

But no. It was always red. It was always warm. It always reminded her that she could still be colorful, even if she didn't feel that way.

It was familiar, just like the pain. The blood and the pain were pure. They were the only pure things she had left.

Until Henry.

Henry came, and the numbness lightened without any blood spilling. It was minimal at first, and sometimes Regina found her hands trembling as she forced the blade across her thighs, because suddenly, there was fear in her heart.

Suddenly, she had a reason to be afraid of the pain, of the blood. Suddenly, she had a reason to live, and she didn't quite need the pain anymore to get her high, to push her on. Henry had spilled into her heart like a sun flame—bright and vibrant and so full of burning life that Regina could hardly do anything but be overwhelmed by him, overwhelmed and in awe.

His tiny fists inspired a curve in her lips. His curious eyes drew her away from the edge. His squeals of laughter tipped the scale, and the measure of her joy outweighed her sorrow for the first time in decades.

Pain became a distant memory as she pulled him closer, held him tighter, loved him the best she could.

But that bridge beneath her, that foundation of connection, crumbled when his curious eyes turned accusing, when his sweet laughter faded into biting insults and exclamations that tore at her soul.

And there was pain, waving in the wake of Henry's rejection and offering her a little comfort, a little relief. A bittersweet invitation.

She took it. Once. Twice. More times than she could count, and she never stopped loving Henry, but the hope that he could love her as fiercely in return? That hope never sang louder than the pain, and Regina needed a soothing melody.

But then there was Emma.

There was Emma, and everything, _everything _changed.

The challenge in those forest eyes ignited a fire in Regina's soul, and it burned hotly—spreading out and into her cells. She felt dangerous and alive. It was intoxicating, that feeling. It was addicting, arousing, energizing, enlivening. It was everything.

It was better than the pain.

The venom in their words, the sizzling tension in their gazes, the white-hot heat in their accidental touches or their raging punches thrown on impulse—each was like a drug. And Regina? She wanted to use and abuse until her veins gave out or her body ran dry.

And then it shifted—their blazing dynamic. The fire whispered down to glowing embers, yet somehow, still managed to feed Regina's need for transcendence beyond her loneliness, beyond her sorrow, beyond the fear that she never had been and never would be enough.

Their burning gazes softened to tender glances of understanding, and understanding was something Regina had never truly known, not beyond a glimmer, a fraction, a whisper. The similar shades of their pasts made themselves apparent in moments that mattered, in moments that altered something so deep inside Regina that she no longer needed transcendence.

Instead, she needed gravity. She wanted to be grounded. She wanted, for the first time in her life, to be magnificently present. She wanted to learn more, know more, understand more.

And she did—little by little.

That was how Emma taught Regina the intricate design of love instead of disaster. She drew nearer, bringing Henry along, pulling him back home. Regina found herself healing in the moments she lived as a point of the most precious triangle she had ever known—she, Emma, Henry.

And when fair fingertips graced her flesh for the first time, she shivered with anticipation. When quiet declarations of feelings beyond friendship whispered through teeth, she vibrated with the confession. When gentle touches and tight embraces promised her relief and constancy, she breathed the cleanest, purest breath to have ever filled her aching lungs.

When Emma's lips pressed to the white-washed scars on the tender flesh of her inner thighs, Regina let go of the pain.

She let go.


	4. Chapter 4

**PROMPT: THE CHARMINGS CAST A SPELL ON REGINA TO GET INFO FROM HER, AND NOW SHE CAN'T LIE, AND SHE ACCIDENTALLY CONFESSES HER LOVE TO EMMA.**

"You guys, seriously, I don't think this is the answer," Emma said, pleading with her parents to reconsider their decision. "We shouldn't do this. I don't think Regina is responsible for this."

It had been around a week since Hook had gone missing, and of course, Regina had been everyone's number-one suspect, despite the fact that Hook had much uglier history with Rumplestiltskin. It absolutely set Emma's teeth on edge. She knew that Regina hadn't done this, but her parents were impossible to convince without "proof."

She rolled her eyes as Snow and David motioned for the Blue Fairy to join them. Man, Emma thought, for people who are so magic-is-evil, they sure do like to use that shit whenever it benefits them.

"I know you think you know her, Emma, but we know her better, honey," Snow argued. "She is quite capable of this, and if we follow through with the plan and it is revealed that she is not responsible, then so be it, but I think you need to prepare yourself for the strong possibility that she is."

Snow reached over and took a small vial of clear liquid from the fairy. She then held it out to Emma. "This is a truth serum. If Regina drinks it, she will be unable to tell a lie and then we can simply ask her if she had anything to do with Killian's disappearance."

"I'm not putting that in Regina's drink," Emma said firmly, shaking her head. "I'm not gonna be a part of this, doubting her again. You guys were wrong last time, and I think you're wrong this time, too."

"We have to be sure, Em," David said, shrugging. He then turned to his wife. "I'll do it," he told her, taking the vial.

* * *

Surprisingly enough, the Charmings were able to pull off their plan of getting the truth serum in Regina's drink later that day at the diner. Snow had simply distracted Regina by pissing her off—namely trying to bring up the past, while David had snuck up on the other side and behind and poured the serum quickly into Regina's coffee.

Almost instantly, a barely visible glow danced over Regina's skin before disappearing. Snow and Charming nodded at one another and Emma quickly jumped over to join them. She didn't want to miss anything, though she seriously did not like what was happening.

As they all crowded around Regina, the brunette looked up at them, her brows furrowing. "What's going on here?"

"They slipped you a damn potion," Emma told her, shooting a glare at her mother. "And I want you to know that I didn't support the idea. Okay?"

Regina's eyes widened, anger flaring through her system. "A potion?" she bit out. "What the hell have you done to me?"

"Relax," Snow told her. "It's just a truth serum. We have to know, Regina…did you have anything to do with Killian's disappearance?"

"For the thousandth time, Snow, NO!" Regina barked out. "And how dare you use magic against me when you and your lapdog husband have forbidden me from using it myself. What do I have to do to convince you idiots that I'm not out to get you or anyone for that matter?"

"You don't like Killian, Regina," David chimed it. "It's perfectly reasonable to suspect that you might ha—"

"Well of course I don't like him!" Regina exclaimed, cutting him off. "He's a pathetic, cowardly excuse for a man, a woman abuser, a pervert, and he is constantly pawing all over Emma. What is there for me to like?"

Emma's brows raised at that. Interesting, she thought.

"That's YOUR opinion," Snow said, "and it doesn't matter. We got the answer we needed and now—"

"Whoa, hold on there," Emma said quickly. "I might uh…have a few questions."

At those words, Regina suddenly seemed somewhat nervous. "No, I'm done with all of you," she said quickly before moving to stand and leave.

"Why does it bother you that Hook 'paws' at me, like you said?" Emma asked quickly, hating herself for using this ugly situation to her own advantaged, but she had to know.

Regina's entire face turned red and her fists clenched like she wanted to punch the blonde in the face, but the potion forced the words out of her mouth before she could stop them. "BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE, DAMMIT!"

A loud gasp echoed from Snow's mouth. "Oh gods, are you in love with her?" she asked Regina.

"Mary Margaret, seriously," Emma said, rolling her eyes, though she couldn't deny her excitement. "It's just…it's not"

"Yes," Regina said softly, unable to stop herself.

Emma's head snapped up and her eyes locked onto Regina's. The brunette looked like she wanted to scream or run or cry or kill someone or maybe all four. "You…you are?" Emma asked, unable to mask the hope in her voice.

Regina let out a heavy sigh as her chin dropped to her chest and she whispered, "Yes."

As soon as Regina felt the sting of tears at her eyelids, she sucked in a sharp breath and let rage spill through her system. She pushed her way around Emma and Snow and shot for the door, intent on getting the hell away from all of them lest she do or say something she would later regret.

Emma stood there dumbfounded, watching Regina flee the diner, a terrible feeling of guilt overwhelming her. She hesitated only about a minute before she snapped back to reality, and her feet began moving without thought or command. Her mother's shouts to her were but muted bubbles of air that never reached her ears as she found herself suddenly chasing after Regina.

She rocketed out of the diner, her pulse drumming in her ears. Her head snapped to the right, the direction she assumed Regina would have gone given it led toward the brunette's house, and she could see said woman a little ways in the distance. Regina must have quickened her pace to have made it that far; either that, or Emma had stood in the wake of her escape much longer than she realized.

"Regina!" she called out, but the brunette kept going, and so Emma kicked her body into gear and began chasing after her. The closer she got, the more she called for the other woman. "Regina, please! Wait!"

Regina didn't halt, though, nor did she even acknowledge the Sheriff's cries. She continued with a quick pace, just enough to stay a little ahead of Emma, and let the blonde pursue her all the way to her enormous home on 108 Mifflin Street.

She expected Emma to back off once they reached her home, but the Sheriff never left. She followed Regina right to the door, both of them panting, and Regina flinched and jerked away when she felt a hand drop onto her shoulder.

"Don't touch me," she choked out as she sucked in several deep breaths and whirled to face the blonde. She hated the tears that had ripped down her cheeks, hated the weakness and the vulnerability that lived in those vile salted drops, the evidence of her inability to be unaffected by Emma Swan.

"Regina," Emma panted out, her heart clenching so painfully in her chest upon seeing the tears marring the brunette's cheeks that she thought it might merely crumble, "please. I'm…god, Regina, I'm sorry."

"No, you aren't sorry," Regina growled out, getting up in the woman's face, but never touching her. She tried so desperately to bite her tongue, but her entire being felt on the verge of exploding, and before she knew it, words were spilling from her lips in time with the loathsome tears from her eyes.

"You got what you wanted. You and your pathetically _good_parents. You humiliated me. That was the goal, yes? To splay me open and put me on display for all of Storybrooke to laugh at? That's what I deserve after all, isn't it?"

"Regina, no," Emma whispered, her voice cracking. She couldn't handle the pain in the brunette's voice, so audible beneath the rage.

"No?" Regina snapped, her voice lower and harder than Emma had ever heard it. Her tearful eyes were somehow both wet and on fire as she glared at the blonde. "You _violated_me."

"Wha—" Emma cried.

"I foolishly trusted you, and you violated my privacy," Regina told her, gritting her teeth with every breath. "You made me speak of my feelings for you in front of the one person I loathe more than anyone, in front of a diner full of people itching to see the Evil Queen made a fool, and in front of _you."_

Emma couldn't take it anymore. She shot her hands forward and latched onto Regina, yanking the former queen into her arms and against her body. There were so many things she needed to say, but none of the right ones came forward.

She had been so careless. She knew Regina was a private woman, but she had made her bare herself anyway, and the worst part was that she had been elated to find out that Regina loved her, not even considering how the situation affected the other woman. Her mind had gone completely rainbows, thankful that her feelings were returned.

She had fucked up. As strong as Regina was, she was also fragile, and Emma had cracked her exterior without permission. Admitting that she loved Emma or anyone for that matter in a romantic way was a terrifying experience for Regina, and the more Emma thought on it, the more that much became clear.

Regina struggled in her arms, but Emma held tightly to her. "I'm sorry," she said over and over and over again until finally Regina stopped fighting her. The brunette went limp in her arms and Emma could feel the woman's body trembling.

"I shouldn't have done that," Emma told her quietly, whispering the words into Regina's hair. "I just had to know."

Regina gently pushed her back, bloodshot eyes locking onto Emma once more. Those eyes were flooded with questions she didn't voice aloud, but Emma saw them, and she knew.

"Because," she choked out, "I…uh…well, I feel the same way."


	5. Chapter 5

**PROMPT: STRAP-ON SMUT. EMMA WEARING.**

**TRIGGER WARNING: Graphic dirty talk, including references to male anatomy. (This may trigger some, just being cautious.)**

Emma shuddered, little ripples of pleasure trembling across her flesh, as her fingertips dipped into the molten opening of Regina's throbbing sex.

"Oh god, babe," she groaned. "You're so damn wet. So ready for me."

Regina's body rocked against Emma's hand, pushing for penetration, aching for another release. "Yes, gods, yes, Emma. So just do it already."

Emma couldn't help the small grin that danced on her lips as she spread Regina's legs wide and settled between them. The hard shaft strapped to the apex of her thighs was cold to the touch as she moved to slide it's firm head up and down Regina's dripping slit. Regina hissed at the cold touch but then moaned as it warmed quickly and only fueled her need to be thoroughly, deeply, roughly fucked.

"Do what?" Emma asked breathily, the mere sight of the thick dildo poised at Regina's entrance enough to make her body vibrate.

Regina groaned her frustration with her wife's need to tease and draw out each and every moment. At times it could be utter bliss, and at others, Regina just needed her to shut up and get to work.

"Fuck me already," she bit out, and Emma moaned deeply.

The blonde quickly began to gather the moisture from the tip and rub it along the shaft. She added a bit of lube for good measure and then without another moment of hesitation, Emma pressed the tip of her silicone cock into Regina's throbbing opening.

Slow. She went slowly at first, pressing inch by inch and reveling in Regina's quickening breaths and body-rocking moans, until she was buried as deeply as she could manage. Emma froze in place for a moment, letting her wife adjust to the invasion of the large member, and when she felt the woman's muscles relax, she pulled out to the tip and then slammed it roughly home.

Regina let out a ragged cry. "Oh yes! Gods, do it again."

Emma grunted with the force, with the energy and muscle required to dig in deep and hard, to set up a grueling pace of fucking Regina's pussy raw.

She pushed her wife's legs back, holding at her ankles as she worked her hips in small, tight circles, making sure to hit Regina's sweet spot on each backstroke.

It wasn't long though before Regina was pulling Emma down atop her, fingernails digging into Emma's toned ass and urging her on, pushing her in further.

Their kisses were messy and violent but positively molten, and Emma's cunt vibrated when Regina licked the inside of her ear and whispered, "Talk dirty to me, Emma."

Emma knew what Regina wanted. She didn't just like dirty talk. She liked it lewd, crass, and Emma loved the thrill it induced.

"You like that, baby?" Emma whispered against Regina's sweaty hair as he slammed the dildo in over and over, long and short strokes, deep, deep, shallow, deep. "You like the way I fuck you?"

"Mm," Regina moaned, her nails digging up Emma's back, leaving deep red scratches in fair flesh. "More."

"You like the way my cock feels in your pussy, Regina?" Emma breathed hotly against Regina's neck. "You want me to shred your tight little cunt until you fucking explode?"

"Oh gods, Emma," Regina panted out, her sex tightening and tightening around the dildo. She was close, and it hadn't taken much, already so worked up from foreplay, and Emma's dirty talk always drove her right over the edge. "I'm going to come."

"Yeah?" Emma moaned. God this was hot. Regina was a fucking goddess and her pleasure was like a drug to the blonde. Sweat dripped along her back and stomach, down her thighs, as she sped up her pace. "Come Regina. Come with me still inside you. Come all over my big cock, babe."

"Oh fuck!" Regina shouted, her nails dipping in and drawing blood from Emma's back as she stilled entirely and her pussy clamped down around the shaft. "There!"

Emma held firmly in place while Regina trembled beneath her, and then she rocked gently, helping her ride out the last bit of her orgasm.

Regina let out soft whimpers as the pleasurable shockwaves dwindled and then faded entirely, and her body went limp. Emma's followed, collapsing atop her, their sweat-slicked bodies sticky as they molded together.

Their breaths were shallow and quick as they held one another, the strap-on still buried deep inside Regina.

Regina stroked Emma's moist hair and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Thank you."

Emma grinned against Regina's collarbone. "Thank me when we're finished," she whispered as her hips began to rock again.


	6. Chapter 6

**PROMPT: REAL LIFE EMMA AND REGINA ARE NOT TOGETHER, BUT EMMA CREATES A SIMS STORYBROOKE AND HAS THEIR SIMS FALL IN LOVE. SHE EVENTUALLY FINDS HERSELF WANTING THE SAME, ESPECIALLY THE WOO-HOO! BONUS POINTS IF HER MAGIC STARTS MAKING HER INFLUENCE THE REAL TOWN THROUGH THE GAME.**

Emma sat in the station, tapping away at the keys on her computer's keyboard. Her bottom lip was tucked between her teeth as she contemplated on completing various tasks in her latest obsession—_Sims_.

Given that she rarely had anything to do at work other than paperwork, Emma decided to give the computer game a try and instantly fell in love with it. Darts wasn't her thing anyway.

She had spent a good amount of time building her little _Sims _version of Storybrooke, complete with all the townspeople (well, the ones she was aware of, at least) filling all their appropriate roles. Her own _Sims _character was the Sheriff. Mary Margaret's was a teacher. David's worked with animals. Henry's was a student. Ruby's was a waitress. Archie's was a therapist. Whale's was a doctor. Gold's was a shop owner. Belle's worked in the library. And of course, Regina's was the Mayor.

Oh, and Granny's was a Granny.

She enjoyed taking them about their days, making them engage in conversations and little activities. She particularly enjoyed messing with Regina's character, though she never spent much time contemplating why. Her base reason was that she enjoyed messing with Regina in real life, so why not in a game? The two were constantly egging one another on, poking at each other's nerves. Might as well be true to life, right?

Admittedly, though, the banter and teasing between she and Regina had grown over the years—taking on more of a friendly manner than their previous blatant cruelty. Emma was thankful for that. It made co-parenting Henry so much easier.

Emma chuckled to herself as the idea suddenly erupted in her mind to marry Regina off in the game. Who could she pair the woman with that would be funny?

Archie? Ha, that would be funny. In Emma's opinion, Archie was way too sensitive to be with Regina. He could definitely help her work through various issues, but Emma would give Regina about a week tops of listening to all that soft-voiced encouragement before the Mayor ended up crushing a bug.

Gold? Oh goodness. That one made Emma both laugh and shudder. No, that wouldn't work anyway. As funny as that would be considering how Regina would likely react to that if she ever knew (which she wouldn't!), Emma had already paired Gold with Belle in the game.

Mary Margaret? Emma died on that one. She literally had to bend over and wheeze for air from laughing so hard. She actually had tears in the corners of her eyes at the thought of Regina's reaction if she had ever found out her sim was married off to Mary Margaret's.

Still, she couldn't go that route either, because her parents' sims were together in the game, as they were in real life. It was only fitting.

So, who could she choose for—Oh wait.

Emma snapped her fingers and laughed out loud as she realized that it would be equally hilarious to pair her own sim with Regina's. The mere thought of Regina's reaction made her cackle, and so Emma knew that it would bring her a good laugh each day when she sat down to play the game—just thinking of what reaction she might get if Regina knew that there were tiny virtual versions of them that were married.

After she had her sim and Regina's married, Emma figured she might as well go the extra mile and make it a completely well-rounded relationship. If for no other reason, she did it because she still had several hours left in her shift and nothing but this game to fill them with.

She moved herself into the big house that was Regina's in the game, so that her sim, Henry's, and Regina's all lived together.

She didn't acknowledge it, but just that one change touched Emma. It triggered something inside her, and she found herself wondering what that might be like…to…to have a family of her own, with Henry and….

No, no way. She shook her head and went back to her game. That, however, helped her very little, because there it was—that big house and that little family and that marriage taunting her.

No, Emma told herself again. That is absurd. She laughed at herself, snorting mockingly at the idea. As if she would ever be in a relationship with Regina. They'd probably end up killing each other.

"There's really no probably to it," Emma mumbled to herself. They would definitely end up killing each other…right?

It would likely be a constant push-pull. There would likely be endless bickering. They had little in common except maybe a few similar life experiences.

Regina, though, probably liked fancy foods. Emma was cool with grilled cheeses and fries. Regina like fancy clothes. Emma was cool with jeans and tanks. Regina liked apples. Emma was more of an oranges kind of girl.

Regina probably snored. That would annoy her. Yeah, definitely a deal-breaker.

And even if it wasn't, Regina was probably one of those people that took forever in the shower and used up all the hot water so that there would be none left for her. Yeah, and that was…that was definitely a deal-bre—

Regina in the shower.

Emma's spine straightened so fast that she was surprised her back didn't crack with the movement as a sudden and unexpected wave of heat curled through her belly, low and vibrating.

"Shit," Emma muttered. "No, I am _not _thinking about Regina Mills in the damn shower. No, I am definitely NOT thinking about that."

She shook her head, hard this time, and decided to turn the game off. Damn thing was putting crazy thoughts in her head. She had never considered or even thought of any of these things before.

Right?

* * *

Emma was in denial for the first few days—obsessing over hers and Regina's sims. She would make them have endless conversations and complete activities together, but she constantly told herself that it was just a funny joke to keep herself entertained.

She would even force out laughs despite the fact that she never felt compelled to actually laugh.

The first time she made her sim and Regina's sim woo-hoo, though…

Well, there was no denying it then.

The mere thought of real-life woohoo-ing with Regina Mills completely and utterly consumed Emma after that. She thought about it more than was healthy, and she found herself unable to look Regina in the eye when she would see her in public or when their paths would cross while exchanging days/nights with Henry. The mere sight of Regina anymore caused that now-familiar heat to ripple through her veins again, caused a rapid pulse to settle between her legs.

But what was most terrifying of all was the way that those sensations were secondary.

The primary reaction?

A fluttering in her heart, a yearning she could no longer deny; at least, not to herself.

* * *

The more Emma played, the more that yearning grew. She found herself fantasizing about not only sex with Regina but a life with the other woman. A relationship. A marriage. A family.

Love.

She was so absorbed in it all that she didn't notice the small, barely visible white sparkles that began to dance on her skin every time she played the game, every time her heart yearned for the life her virtual self lived in a virtual Storybrooke.

When things began to change in the true Storybrooke, though, Emma definitely took notice. And unfortunately, so did Regina.

* * *

The first thing that happened was that Emma woke to find her closet and dressers empty. It wasn't just her clothes that were missing, either. All of her possessions had vanished from the loft she shared with her parents.

She hadn't even had time to panic or rage or suspect that someone had robbed her, though, before a phone rang. It was Mary Margaret's cell phone.

Emma shot down the stairs just as her mother was answering the phone.

"Hello?" Mary Margaret said into the phone.

"Oh, Regina, hi. What? No. But—how could that…Please stop yelling, Regina. I obviously had nothing to do—I don't think Emma knows enough about her magic to. Well, that was entirely unnecessary. Fine, okay. I'll send her over."

Mary Margaret hung up the call, her hand pressing to her forehead as if she suddenly had a headache. It didn't surprise Emma given that she could hear Regina yelling over the phone, though she hadn't been able to make out what the woman had been saying.

"What was that about?" Emma asked her, momentarily distracted from her own dilemma of waking up possession-less.

"Emma," Mary Margaret said, looking up, brows furrowed, "are you missing anything?"

"Yes!" Emma exclaimed. "I woke up and all my shi—sorry, my stuff was gone. Like literally _all _of it, even my phone. All that was left were the pajamas I'm wearing."

"Well, Regina found your things."

"Seriously? Where? And who the hell stole my stuff?"

"Apparently, all of your things suddenly appeared in her bedroom."

Emma could only stare, gaping at her mother as if that was the most absurd thing she had ever heard. But then she remembered the time that she had been informed that she was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Yeah, this was barely a pinprick on the flesh of absurdity.

* * *

Emma had gone to Regina's house to retrieve her things and had endured a lecture from the Mayor about tampering with magic.

"Miss Swan!" Regina exclaimed. "You have to keep your magic under control."

"You don't seriously think that _I _did this, do you?" Emma snapped back at her. "I woke to find that all my crap was gone, and _you've_ got it all. How the hell do I know that you didn't do this as a prank?"

"Your panties are mixed in the drawer with mine!" Regina practically shouted.

Emma's face instantly flushed a deep crimson. "Oh…well…yeah, I can't really see you doing that. You're right. Uh…um…well, I'll just go and get them then."

Regina let out a loud bark of laughter. "And rifle through my underwear, Miss Swan? I don't think so."

"Well if you go and get them out, then you're technically getting to rifle through _my _underwear," Emma replied, rolling her eyes. "I don't see how that's fair."

"Do you think that I am going to enjoy it?" Regina deadpanned. "What does fairness matter? It's not as if I have a secret desire to touch your underwear, Miss Swan."

Emma cleared her throat roughly as she fought to tamp down the blush heating her cheeks, because _she _most definitely had a desire to touch _Regina's _panties and maybe even one to have Regina touch her panties as well. She sure as hell wasn't about to say that though. She cleared her throat roughly and said, "Right well…uh…hurry up then, I guess. I feel weird being here in my pajamas."

* * *

Emma got all of her possessions back home that morning, and went about her day as usual, playing _Sims _and doing her best to forget the embarrassment. She didn't have a clue what had happened or how all of her possessions had ended up in Regina's bedroom, but she couldn't shake the feeling that maybe Regina had been right.

Maybe it had been _her_. Maybe Emma was using magic without even realizing it.

Nah, she thought. Surely she would feel something. She shook off the uncertainty and went back to her game, and later that evening, she fell asleep soundly in her bed and surrounded by all her things.

When she woke the next morning, though, something wasn't right. She had about two seconds of disoriented where-the-hell-am-I feelings, before she heard a sharp gasping yelp sound from her left and felt a hard kick to her side.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Shit!" Emma shouted, instantly recognizing that voice, even if her eyes hadn't yet adjusted to see through the haze. It was Regina.

"Shit is right, Miss Swan!" Regina exclaimed. "Explain yourself!"

Emma rubbed hastily at her eyes, blinking rapidly. Holy hell. She had woken up in Regina's bed, sharing the sheets with the Mayor of all people. She glanced down at herself and was relieved to see that she was wearing pajamas, but then her brows furrowed because…well, those weren't her pajamas.

She didn't own any pajamas that were full sets, matching pants and button-down shirts. They somehow seemed oddly familiar though.

"Miss Swan!"

"Sorry, uh…I don't know, Regina," Emma said quickly, putting her hands up in a show of surrender. "Don't like fireball me or anything. I seriously don't know what happened. I don't know how I got here."

As she was talking, a flash of color caught her eye and she looked over to see her red leather jacket hanging on the back of a chair at Regina's vanity. "My jacket," she said, unaware that she had said it aloud.

"What?" Regina turned and saw the jacket as well. "Oh no. No," she said, before zipping through the room to the closet and the bathroom. She returned with Emma's toothbrush and hairbrush and several articles of Emma's clothing.

"All of your things are here again," Regina said, tossing them on her bed. She pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a heavy breath as Emma ducked her head and quietly said, "I'm sorry, Regina. I don't know what's happening."

Regina sighed, shaken a bit by the sincerity in Emma's voice. She looked up and locked eyes with her then. "It's magic," she told her. "I'm sure of it. I'm just not sure whose or why. Considering these are _your _things, though, I am inclined to believe it is _your _magic causing them to appear here."

"But why?"

"I don't know, Miss Swan," Regina answered. "What have you been thinking of lately? Hoping for? Desiring? Perhaps a larger space to store your things? You would be amazed how simple desires can affect magic, especially magic as powerful as your own, powerful enough to actually provide."

"Um…" Emma shuffled her feet around, her eyes darting down to her pajamas again, and then suddenly, the familiarity of the pajamas struck her. They were the pajamas that her sim always wore in the game. Emma gasped so hard that she choked, her eyes blowing wide as the words escaped her before she could stop them—"My _Sims_."

"What?" Regina snapped, her hands on her hips as she stood across the room in pajamas eerily matching Emma's own.

Emma pointed at the outfit and nervously asked, "Regina, are those…are those the pajamas that you went to bed in?"

"What?" Regina sighed before she even looked down. "Of course th—" She stopped talking as she actually looked down at her body. "What the hell is going on here?!"

"I take it that means those aren't yours?" Emma asked.

"No!"

"Okay, well…shit." Emma swallowed thickly and then she swallowed again. She didn't know what she could do other than tell the truth, because what if this stuff just kept happening. She still wasn't sure exactly how it had happened, but Regina could probably figure that much out. Telling her though would be an embarrassment unlike any that Emma was prepared to deal with. Still, what choice did she have?

"You know something," Regina said, narrowing her eyes. "Out with it. What did you do, Miss Swan?"

"I may have…I don't know," Emma answered. "It's just that I have this game, called _Sims, _and you can make a fictional town and fictional characters and make them live out their lives and do things."

"The point?" Regina snapped.

"Well, in the game, I'm the Sheriff and you're the Mayor, obviously," Emma told her, stalling.

"_I _have a character in this little game of yours?" Regina asked, brows lifting.

"Yeah," Emma told her, clearing her throat. "Yup, and she's the Mayor, and well…" Emma's entire face was the color of a cherry as she sucked in a hard and fast breath and in one fast rush of words said, "mysimandyoursimaremarried."

Regina just stared at her for a moment, trying to sound out the impossibly fast sentence, but then her chocolate eyes went wide and her lips parted in a small gaping expression.

"Regina, I—" Emma began, but was quickly interrupted.

"Why?!" Regina blurted, her face completely contorted with her confusion.

"I'm sorry," Emma told her. "I just…at first, I thought it would be funny because we argue so much and then I just…the more I played, the more I started to think and feel and—well, let's just say it's not so funny to me anymore."

"You did this," Regina said quietly, the words barely a whisper, but she didn't sound angry. In fact, Emma thought she might have been hearing things when Regina sounded more awestruck than anything.

"I guess so, yeah," Emma told her, ducking her head. "I guess maybe my magic tried to make the game real or something."

"Because you desired it to be real?" Regina asked so quietly, so softly that Emma nearly missed it. She heard it though and she lifted her head slowly to look into those wide chocolate eyes. Her heart felt like it might explode at any moment. She was exposing her secret, a secret that Regina could use to hurt her, but it was all she knew to do in that moment.

She sighed heavily, her eyes stinging as she fought back tears that choked in her throat, and nodded.

When she was sure she could talk without her voice cracking, Emma took a deep breath and quietly said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I'll just…is it okay if I come and get my stuff later?"

She didn't wait for an answer before turning toward the door and hastily making her way out of Regina's bedroom. She shot past Henry's closed door where he was undoubtedly still sleeping. The kid could sleep through the apocalypse.

She was nearly to the bottom of the stairs when a swirl of purple smoke suddenly appeared there, and a second later Regina was grabbing her by the arm and stopping her.

"Emma, wait," the brunette whispered.

Emma kept her gaze down, not wanting to look into Regina's eyes. She was too embarrassed, too…exposed. She just wanted to get the hell out of there.

"Regina, just let me go. I'll get my stuff later, and I'll delete the game, so that this won't happen again, and you won't have to worry about any—"

It was fast, unexpected, soft—Regina's warm fingers under her chin, turning her face swiftly. Supple lips pressed quickly to hers—just a small touch, before it was gone.

Emma's eyes snapped open then, locking onto Regina's. They stood there at the bottom of the stairs, gaping at each other as if neither could believe that that had just happened. Yet, it had.

Regina's hand was still slightly cupping Emma's chin, and the blonde slowly reached up and closed her fingers around Regina's wrist. "What was that?" she asked.

"I don't know," Regina answered honestly, "but perhaps…we could find out together."


	7. Chapter 7

**PROMPT: LITTLE THINGS THAT EMMA DOES TO MAKE REGINA HAPPY. LITTLE "SECRET" THINGS THAT REGINA DOES FOR EMMA, THINKING EMMA DOESN'T NOTICE. BONUS POINTS FOR CUTE SWANQUEEN BANTER.**

Regina kissed Emma's lips gently, one hand lain lightly across the Sheriff's chest as they stood just outside the front of the mansion. "Have a good day, darling."

"You too, babe," Emma replied against those supple lips. "I'll stop by for lunch if you're not too busy, okay? Just text me."

"I believe I may have a meeting," Regina told her, her brows furrowing just slightly as she tried to recall if that lunch appointment had been pushed, canceled, or remained the same. "I will double check and let you know."

"'Kay." Emma pressed one last peck to Regina's lips before smacking her lightly on the butt and heading down the driveway to where the cruiser waited by the curb. She turned back, walking backwards, and called out to her wife once more just before the brunette disappeared inside the Mercedes. "Love you."

Regina smiled brightly, shyly almost because even after years together, it still amazed her that someone could love her so…completely. "I love you," she returned quietly, though Emma still heard every word.

Once Regina closed the door of her car and settled in, buckling her belt, and turning the key in the ignition to start the car, she noticed the marker on her gas gauge rise to "full" whereas it had been near empty the night before. She felt that small tug in her chest. Emma.

* * *

Emma made her way into the station, a coffee from Granny's gripped tightly in one hand. She sighed as she dropped down into her desk chair and stared at the pile of paperwork she had to finish. It was the only part of her job that she truly loathed; well, that and constantly having to apologize to the fairies (who weirdly insisted on still behaving as nuns even years after the curse was broken) on behalf of Leroy while dragging him away from the front door of the convent.

She took a sip of her coffee and reached for the stack. She was surprised to see that small colored tabs had been attached to the tops of some of the files. Confused, Emma took a closer look, and she realized that all of her files had been organized for her—tabbed and categorized by both type and priority.

Emma chuckled softly to herself, shaking her head and reaching for the phone on her desk. She tapped out a number she knew by heart, and waited for Regina's snobby secretary to answer.

"Mayor Mills' office."

"Hey Charlotte," Emma replied quickly. Charlotte didn't even give her a chance to say another word before sighing as if annoyed and putting her straight through to Regina.

A moment later, Regina's raspy voice came through the phone in a clipped answer. "Mayor Mills."

"Someone's been messing with my files, Regina," Emma told her, keeping her voice neutral.

"Oh?" Regina asked, not giving anything away. "Is there anything missing, dear? Anything suspicious?"

"No, nothing like that." Emma grinned as she picked at the chipped wood stain on her desk absentmindedly. "Seems we've got a good-deeds bandit on our hands. Know anything about that?"

Regina bit her lip, smiling as she typed out an email and kept the phone tucked between her ear and shoulder. She wasn't about to admit to her sneaky moments of utter sap, so she calmly said, "Check my resume, darling. You will find a supreme lack of good deeds. I advise interrogating your mother on the matter."

"Mmhmm," Emma hummed, chuckling into the phone.

* * *

Regina smiled softly as she stepped into the kitchen and saw the small bouquet of flowers on the dining table, arranged messily in a vase, but still pretty. It was something that Emma often did for her, though the blonde never brought it up. Ever since Regina had randomly mentioned once that she enjoyed fresh flowers in the kitchen, though, Emma had begun cutting a few from the garden each week and placing them in a vase on the dining table for her.

Regina breathed in the fresh scent of the small floral arrangement, sighing contentedly as it tickled at her nose. She grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and took light sips of the refreshing liquid as she sifted through the mail. A glance at the clock told her that her wife would be home soon, and that same small smile graced her lips once more.

* * *

Emma plopped down on the couch next to Regina after dinner, a bottle of her favorite beer held loosely in her hand and balanced on the side of her knee.

"How was work?" she asked as she leaned her head back against the couch and let out a contented sigh. She rested her free hand on Regina's thigh as the brunette leaned a little further into her. Regina never looked up from the novel she was reading, her black-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.

"Same as always," she answered as she continued to read. "You?"

"Same," Emma answered, nodding and taking a swig of her beer. She loved moments like this—quiet moments, easy moments, simple moments. She and Regina could just…_exist _together, and there was never any pressure to say anything or do anything or be anything. It was perfect.

After a long moment of silence, Regina quietly said, "Thank you for the flowers."

Emma grinned against the mouth of her bottle. "Thank you for the files," she replied easily.

Regina smirked without looking up, one brow arching. "I thought we had already determined that I wasn't responsible for such sickeningly sweet goodness."

Emma chuckled softly as she squeezed her wife's thigh. "I know it was you, babe. You're always doing stuff like that for me."

Regina lowered her book then, turning to look at her wife. "Oh?"

"Yeah," Emma smiled, slipping her hand up momentarily to tickle lightly at Regina's side, only to have her hand smacked back down. "I notice things, babe—all the little things you do for me. I notice them all. I just don't say anything because you hate admitting that you're secretly a softie."

"I am no such thing," Regina told her, narrowing her eyes, but Emma could see the smile pulling at the brunette's lips.

"You so are," Emma teased. "You're always organizing my stuff for me because I'm such a slob, color-coding my socks and ironing my shirts for me, keeping the fridge stocked with my fave beer." She raised her bottle as proof. "You keep track of my stuff for me, and leave little reminders for me of Henry's school events and town meetings I have to be at. You label the detergents and bleaches and separate the clothes so I don't accidentally use the wrong ones and turn our clothes wonky colors like the time I kind of accidentally turned half of Henry's underwear pink."

Regina laughed softly at that. "He insisted we buy him all new boxer briefs and then he banned you from the laundry room for a month."

Emma cracked up at that, too. "Well, whatever. It's not like anyone would've seen the kid's underwear anyway. And in my defense, I didn't even notice that red sock. It must have been hidden in all the whites."

"Yes, I know, dear."

"Anyway," Emma sighed, "you're always doing these wonderful little things for me, and I _do _notice, okay? I appreciate them all. You're so good to me, and for me, and…just thank you, babe."

Regina's cheeks tinted a tender pink as she lowered her head a bit, smiling. "Well, you would lose your head otherwise," she finally said after a moment, clearing her throat and discreetly swiping at one eye. She then rose quickly from the couch. "I need a glass of wine," she announced and made to move around the couch toward the kitchen.

She stopped at the side of the couch and bent to her wife. She cupped one hand gently around Emma's cheek and pressed a soft kiss to the other. "Thank you for filling my tank, Emma," she whispered before rubbing her hand through long blonde locks and turning to head into the kitchen.

Emma just smiled and took a sip of her beer, enjoying the soft clinking sound of her wedding band against the glass as she drummed her fingers against the side of the bottle and waited for her wife to return.


	8. Chapter 8

**PROMPT: PURE SMUT.**

Emma's head slammed roughly against the back of the coat-closet door, the vibrations of the wood's tremors bouncing against her skull. She hardly noticed though as the air around her became thick, heated, and perfectly tainted by the scent of Regina's perfume and minty breath. She sucked in a hard gasp that evolved into a guttural moan as the brunette painted her curves across Emma's own and brought her supple lips crashing atop the blonde's.

Clumsy fingers pulled at clothing in desperation, and Emma was certain she heard a few buttons scatter across the marble floor of Regina's foyer as she yanked at the woman's silken shirt and blazer while nipping at a full bottom lip. Regina had considerably less trouble with her own ministrations, finding it quite easy to divest Emma of her simple tank top and sports bra, though the blonde did grunt and nearly fall with the forceful yank of the items over her head.

"How many goddamn tops do you have on?" Emma growled out as her body ached only to feel the friction of sweet skin-to-skin contact, but was delayed due to Regina's business attire. The woman had had on a blazer, a button-down silken blouse, a camisole, and of course, her bra.

Regina chuckled into Emma's mouth, her breath hot and wet as it slithered down Emma's throat and had the blonde instantly imagining the vibrations of that sultry, wicked laugh buzzing against her clit. God, she wanted it.

Regina snapped her fingers quickly, and Emma gasped as flesh instantly met flesh. Her hands shot to Regina's hips of their own accord, and a body-rocking moan ripped up from Emma's throat as she realized that Regina had magically rid herself of _all _of her clothes, not just her ridiculous number of tops.

"Fuck, I want you," Emma husked as she kneaded the flesh desperately, her hands roaming over hips and thighs, a soft and smooth abdomen, up toned arms and defined collar bones, and back down to perky breasts sporting perfectly hardened peaks. She pinched Regina's nipples softly, evoking a wanton whimper from the brunette still pressed against her. "You want me?"

"Mm," Regina hummed as she pressed further into Emma's hands and used her own to yank the blonde's head back and expose her neck. Regina licked up the slender column, biting down every so often, until she reached Emma's ear. She licked the hollow shell slowly and whispered, "See for yourself, dear."

Emma's knees trembled at the suggestive words, but when Regina bit into her earlobe and hotly said, "_Feel _your way," Emma thought she might simply collapse onto the floor of the foyer, unable to make it any further into the house.

Her short nails dug into Regina's chest before skimming quickly down her stomach at the brunette's command, and then Emma braced Regina's body by placing one hand on her waist. She used the other to trace a path through steadily dampening curls.

Breath slammed forcefully through parted lips as both women's bodies were racked with tremors upon the first explorative swipe through Regina's already dripping folds.

Regina's body collapsed against Emma's with the touch, her hands clutching tightly to Emma's shoulders to steady herself, and her forehead resting against the blonde's. "Bedroom," she choked out quickly, and Emma nodded.

They half-ran, half-stumbled up the stairs as they tried to make their way to Regina's bedroom as quickly as possible while still latched to one another. Emma tripped over her own feet about three-fourths of the way up, too preoccupied with wrapping her lips around Regina's nipples, and sent them both tumbling roughly down. Emma groaned and grunted with pain as her back collided with the edges of the steps and Regina crashed atop her.

There was only about a two-second rebound, though, before Regina was crawling up Emma's body. The brunette positioned herself precariously over Emma's chest and slid her soaked cunt over the smooth skin of Emma's chest, grinning wickedly down at the woman beneath her. "If you can't make it to the bedroom, dear, I'll simply have to improvise."

A burst of energy coursed through Emma's body, fueled by her burning arousal, and she wrapped her arms tightly around Regina's waist before shifting her quickly to the side. She jumped to her feet on the stairs before grabbing Regina's hand and practically yanking the woman the rest of the way.

Regina couldn't help but laugh as Emma basically sprinted down the hallway of the second floor, pulling her along, and into Regina's bedroom. As soon as they were inside, Emma turned, scooped Regina into her arms, and practically tossed her onto the large bed, and despite being a bit disoriented from the jostling throw, Regina didn't miss a beat.

As soon as Emma's body hit the mattress beside her, she jumped to straddle the blonde's chest once more. Regina moaned deeply, the sound raw as it vibrated in her chest and soared up her throat as she rocked wetly against Emma's chest, and Emma's breathing quickened, her hands shooting up to grip Regina's thighs and encourage the rocking.

"Fuck, you're so wet, babe," Emma groaned, the words hardly more than a whisper that puffed hotly against Regina's clit and made her jerk forward. "You feel so good."

"I taste even better," Regina told her, before shifting to slither the rest of the way up. She hovered briefly over Emma's mouth, enjoying the puffs of breath that rocketed through her core, before lowering her pussy to the open and eager mouth below.

The instant Emma's tongue dipped out and teased at her entrance, Regina cried out her pleasure, her hips bucking forward of their own accord. "Gods yes," she hissed as she began to ride Emma's face with fervor, her hands coming up to palm her own breasts.

Emma locked her arms around Regina's thighs to hold the woman in place, and as she quickened the pace of her tongue, darting in and out of Regina's soaking hole before swiping up to suck the brunette's hardened clit into her mouth and then gliding back down again, she looked up at the sheer beauty that was Regina Mills in the throes of unadulterated desire.

The woman was breathtaking, writhing against Emma's mouth, her juices slipping down the blonde's chin. Her breasts bounced with the movement or molded into her hands as she tweaked at her own nipples and cried out with every sensation. Emma wanted only to please her, wanted Regina to flood her tongue with an earth-shattering orgasm.

"Gods yes," Regina panted out again, "suck me, Emma."

Emma's own hips bucked into the air, her thighs clamping closed as tremors rocketed through her core. She fucking loved it when Regina talked dirty during sex. The woman could get downright lewd sometimes, and it was always equal parts surprising and sexy as hell.

Emma obliged, wrapping her lips firmly around Regina's clit and sucking so forcefully that the woman above her fell forward with a piercing cry. Regina's hands slammed into the mattress above Emma's head as her orgasm crashed through her, her juices spilling into Emma's mouth and slithering down the blonde's chin.

Her entire body trembled as she stilled in place, holding the moment as long as possible, and when she crashed over that first wave of climax, she rocked back into action, riding out the remaining tremors against Emma's skillful tongue.

Regina's thighs quivered as she fell to the side and slipped off of Emma's face and chest, her breaths coming out fast and uneven as she swiped at the hairs pasted to her face with sweat. Her pussy was still positively throbbing, and she had no doubt that Emma's was as well, a fact that was confirmed only moments later when she heard rustling sounds.

Regina lifted her head just a bit to see her lover struggling on the mattress to shimmy out of her jeans and underwear, and then within seconds, Emma's molten cunt was grinding down atop Regina's thigh.

"Please, Regina," Emma panted as she pumped desperately against the brunette's thigh. "I need to come."

Newly reinvigorated and ready for more, Regina rocketed into action. She grunted with the force it took to quickly flip Emma over. "As you wish love," she husked, her fingers finding their way between arousal-slicked thighs.


	9. Chapter 9

**_PROMPT: SOMETHING CONCERNING SNOW._**

_Where are you love?_

Emma glanced down at her phone and smiled softly at the text message from her pseudo-girlfriend-slash-definite-lover. She tapped out a quick response.

_At MM's. She's super happy about something today. Haven't found out what yet, but she's smiling and bouncing around the apartment like she woke up and found a unicorn waiting for her with a big purple bow on it or something._

A moment later, her phone beeped with a new message.

_That would likely elicit such joy from one such as your mother, yes._

"Isn't it a beautiful day, Em?" Mary Margaret said happily as she leaned over the kitchen sink to open the window there. A cool breeze drifted through the screen, along with several bright rays of sunlight.

"Yup, pretty nice," Emma agreed. "So, what's got you in such a great mood?"

"Oh nothing," Mary Margaret sing-songed, still smiling.

"Okay, cool," Emma laughed out. "Now how about the truth?"

Mary Margaret stuck her tongue out at her daughter before saying, "Very well, but you mustn't tell your father that I told you."

"Ew," Emma said quickly, shaking her head. "You're not about to tell me that you're all sunshine and unicorns because you got laid, are you? Because that stuff ain't cool anymore now that you're my mom and stuff."

"Well of course not," Mary Margaret told her, though the crimson flooding her cheeks said otherwise.

"Ugh, seriously, gross," Emma groaned, reaching for her phone.

_She basically just told me that she's all happy because she got laid last night. I will never recover._

Emma waited for Regina to text back, but she never received a text response. Instead, only seconds passed before a cloud of purple smoke swirled through the air and Regina suddenly appeared in the middle of the kitchen, causing Emma's face to break into a wide smile and Mary Margaret to yelp and jump in surprise.

"Hello Snow," Regina said with a polite nod of her head.

"Regina…what are you doing here?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Yeah," Emma chimed in, also curious as to why the brunette had shown up after receiving her text message.

"Oh, well that is rather simple to explain," Regina told them. She locked her eyes onto Mary Margaret's and said, "You see, Snow, I heard that you were having a particularly splendid day, and unfortunately, I also heard _why,_ as did your now permanently scarred daughter."

"Wha—"

"No, no, dear," Regina said, shaking her head. "There's no need to talk. I'm only here to even the score."

"Even the score?" Emma asked, but Regina merely continued to stare at Mary Margaret, a positively wicked grin devouring her supple lips.

"Thus, I feel it is important that you know, Snow, that last night, your daughter licked me like a rainbow popsicle with a surprising and delicious creamy filling. She quite enjoyed it."

Emma had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep from roaring her laughter as Snow looked on the verge of fainting, and Regina just smiled and said, "That's all. Enjoy the rest of your day!" She then flicked her wrist and disappeared.


	10. Chapter 10

**PROMPT: EMMA STARTS PLAYING SIMS INTENSELY WITH HER AND REGINA IN THE GAME. REGINA FINDS OUT AND MESSES WITH IT WITHOUT EMMA KNOWING.**

"Emma," Regina called as she passed by the living room and into the foyer to grab her car keys. "I'm ready, darling. Let's go."

"'Kay," Emma answered as she bit her lip and tapped away at the keys of Regina's laptop. "Just…need to…hold on. I'm trying to catch a fish."

"What?" Regina called back before sighing and heading back into the living room. She chuckled as she said, "I'm sorry, love. I must have misheard you. It sounded as if you said you were attempting to capture a fish."

"Yeah," Emma told her. "It's not always easy, but I've caught 'em before. I even caught a shark once."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Regina ask her wife, thoroughly confused. She stepped over behind the couch and peered over Emma's shoulder to see a tiny animated figure with blonde hair and a red jacket running along a shore-line on the computer screen.

"What is this?"

"Storybrooke," Emma told her. "I made it."

"No, dear," Regina scoffed. "_I _made Storybrooke."

Emma laughed as she said, "Yeah, I know. I mean, _Sims _Storybrooke. I made a little animated Storybrooke on this Sims game."

"What is this Sims?"

"It's a computer game," Emma answered as she continued to tap at the keys on the keyboard, "and you basically can create towns and like people and jobs and houses and stuff, and then you can just make them live out their lives or whatever. So basically…" she laughed before she continued "it's like the curse, computer-game style."

Regina squinted at the screen. "What will you do with the fish?"

"I can sell it or I can take it home for us to eat," Emma told her before hissing a quick "Yes!" when the game informed her that she'd finally captured one.

"Us?" Regina reiterated. "I am in this game?"

"Yeah, of course," Emma told her, shrugging as if it should have been obvious. "You're the Mayor. You just file files all day and listen to people complain and put together town functions until you come home, and then me and you usually woo-hoo."

Regina frowned at that. "Excuse me?" she asked. "We do what now?"

"We woo-hoo," Emma repeated. "You know like sex."

Regina gasped at that. "These little animated versions of us copulate?!"

"Well yeah," Emma laughed out. "I'm pretty sure that any version of us would screw. We hardly ever stop as it is."

Regina couldn't help the smug smile that pulled at her lips. She found herself very intrigued by this game, and she reached over Emma's shoulder toward her laptop. "May I try?" she asked, but just as she was about to touch, Emma swatted her hand.

"No way!" the blonde hissed. "I already have a set way that I like everything to go. There's a routine and stuff and you don't know any of it. You'll mess it up babe."

"Oh dear, I have _never _messed up our 'woo-hoo' as you say," Regina chuckled.

Emma laughed too. "Ha! Not what I meant, but you're right." Once she finished selling the fish, she closed the game and said, "Okay, let's go."

* * *

Throughout the next few weeks, Emma played her Sims game obsessively, and it was truly beginning to wear at Regina. It wasn't only that she missed time with her wife, either. It was also that she was terribly curious about this game.

So, she waited until Emma went to work one morning, and decided that she could no longer put her curiosity aside. She grabbed her laptop from the living room coffee table where Emma had left it, and carried it up to her study. She shut and locked the door, and quickly made to open the game.

She tampered with as much as she could, slowly figuring out the controls and the abilities of the characters—all that she could and could not do in this fictional little town that was a replica of a large fictional town. Before she knew it, hours had passed with her staring at this computer screen and messing with these Sims characters. She shouted her successes and laughed out loud when she managed to make the characters do hilarious things. It was terribly addicting.

She panicked though when she realized that the day had vanished and her wife would be home shortly. Thus, Regina quickly closed the game and returned the laptop to its position on the coffee table downstairs.

* * *

"What the…?" Emma said, her face scrunching in confusion as she realized how different her Sims characters and town were from how she had left them. "What is this? What happened?"

She tried to understand what could possibly have happened as she walked her character through the tiny town and observed all the changes. None of it made sense at first, but the more Emma noticed, the more the pieces began to add up and make perfect sense.

"REGINA!" she shouted, knowing her wife was likely in the kitchen.

Regina hesitated before making her way into the living room. "Yes, dear?" she asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Don't play innocent with me, woman," Emma told her, narrowing her eyes. "I know you screwed with my Sims."

Regina gasped and placed a hand to her chest. "Me?" she asked. "Now why would I ever do such a thing?"

"It was you."

"How can you possibly know that?"

"Because," Emma told her, "my Sim is friggin' naked, Mom's is three times fatter than before, and Dad's ran off and cheated with Hook."

Regina bit her tongue to keep from laughing as she forced herself not to smile and said, "That in no way incriminates me, dear."

"Someone set a fire to Granny's and made everyone dance around happily inside."

"Again, I don't see how that implicates me," Regina told her, avoiding the blonde's gaze.

"We woo-hoo'd thirty-two times!"

Regina finally cackled at that, unable to hold it in any longer, before just shaking her head and turning around to walk back into the kitchen. She continued to laugh as she called over her shoulder, "It seems that whoever tampered with your game knows us rather well, dear."


	11. Chapter 11

**PROMPT: ROBIN AND REGINA ARE IN ZELENA'S HOUSE. ROBIN IS LIKE HANS FROM FROZEN.**

Regina sucked in a soft gasp as Robin stepped inside her personal bubble, his gaze darting to her lips and back up to her eyes. The signs certainly supported that the thief was about to make a move on her, but Regina was unsure if he actually had the guts to try it.

In that moment, that moment of uncertainty, Regina was terribly conflicted. On one hand, she hardly knew the man. In fact, she knew nothing of him at all but for the facts that he was a thief, he had a son, and he apparently was not afraid of her. On the other hand, it had been a terribly long time since Regina had felt truly wanted.

Though wary, she had to admit it was a nice feeling. He was a bit overbearing, crowding her space in such a way, but the clear desire in his eyes was enough to spark a longing in Regina's chest—a longing for connection, for intimacy, for a mere hour of not having to feel so utterly, soulfully alone.

Could this man provide her with as much? In that moment, he certainly seemed willing.

But then, he reached right past her and grabbed a bottle from the shelf Regina had just been inspecting. As soon as the bottle was in his hand, Robin took a step back, out of Regina's space, and asked, "Is this magical?"

It wasn't. It was nothing more than whiskey, which Regina informed him of, albeit in her own flirtatious little way. This was her way of testing the water. If the flirting was reciprocated, then she would know of the man's true objective.

Robin proved as much when he flashed her a smug grin and grabbed two glasses from the shelf, pouring a shot into each.

A trickle of doubt leaked through Regina's mind as she took the tumbler of whiskey, her eyes never leaving Robin's face. She ignored the sensation, though, ignored her body and brain's common instinct to throw up the walls at any hint of connection, no matter how much she might need it. She muted the alarms in her head, and brought the glass to her lips, watching as Robin did the same.

When Regina tossed back her shot, though, Robin didn't. A devilish smile stretched slowly across his lips the instant that burning liquid slithered down Regina's throat, and that was when she knew she had made a terrible mistake.

She had gone against her instincts, and now all she could feel was the hum of magic on her flesh—not her own but that of whatever had been hidden in that drink.

"You…" She whispered, eyes wide and slightly panicked as she looked up at the smirking thief. "What hav—"

"You truly should learn to be a bit more cautious, Your Majesty," Robin said, chuckling softly. "Taking drinks from a stranger? How trusting of you, or rather very foolish."

Regina glanced quickly around, hoping for some sort of nearby object that could help her, but as she attempted to move her head, she realized she couldn't, Whatever potion had been in her drink was steadily freezing her body in place.

Panic flooded Regina's cells. What if these were her last moments? She would die with Henry not knowing who she was. That was a tragic fate she simply could not stand the thought of.

And then it hit her. Emma was on her way. Yes, Regina had asked her to meet her there just in case she found anything. Yes, any minute the Savior would arrive to rescue her.

"Did you truly think that someone like me would ever actually fancy a woman like you?" Robin asked, laughing. "Oh Regina, there is no one who would fawn over you. You are damaged goods, evil, vile, a disgrace for a royal."

Regina felt tears building behind her steadily mounting anger. This man was voicing some of her most prominent fears aloud in that moment. It made her highly confused, torn between sorrow and rage, at the same time that it broke her heart entirely.

Robin stepped forward and latched onto Regina's chin and jaw, his fingers digging into the flesh painfully. Regina winced as he moved to within an inch of her face, their lips nearly brushing as he coldly said, "No one could ever love you."

"That's where you're wrong," a voice sounded from behind, and Robin quickly whirled on the spot to see none other than the Savior standing there, gun up and aimed at the man's head. "Now get the hell away from her!"


	12. Chapter 12

**PROMPT: LOOPY, UNDIGNIFIED, PAINFULLY HONEST REGINA.**

"Oh my god, you guys," Emma exclaimed as she cackled and ran into the waiting room of the hospital.

Mary Margaret, David, and Henry all jumped to their feet. "What's so funny?" David asked.

"Yeah, and is Mom okay?" Henry added.

"Yes," Mary Margaret chimed, "is Regina alright? I can't believe that horse threw her off. She is normally so wonderful with horses."

"Oh yeah, she's fine," Emma laughed out, "but she's high as hell on whatever pain medicine they gave her. It's hilarious."

"What do you mean?" Henry asked, still slightly worried despite Emma assuring him that his other mother was well.

"She just called me 'Swiss Mon' instead of 'Miss Swan,'" Emma told them, buckling over with laughter again.

Everyone chuckled with her as she motioned for them to follow her back to see Regina. "Why is she even calling you that?" David asked her on the way. "You two have been dating for over a year. She hasn't called you Miss Swan in a long time."

"I dunno," Emma said, shrugging. "I guess she is just really loopy."

When they entered Regina's hospital room, Emma waved and said, "Hey babe."

Regina's lip curled in disgust as her eyes locked onto Mary Margaret. "Why you bring the brat?" she slurred, her eyes squinting as if her vision was blurry. Whale had said it might take her a bit of time to adjust to the pain medication or even that it might react strangely to the magic in her system. He had, though, been quite optimistic that the effects would be harmless.

"Mom!" Henry exclaimed. "Don't call me a brat!"

"No Henrir," she said, shaking her head and then throwing up a hand as if the simple motion had made her terribly dizzy. "Was talking bout Snore."

"I believe you mean Snow," Mary Margaret corrected, rolling her eyes and simply taking it with a grain of salt. She was rather accustomed to the often insulting, yet somehow equally affectionate, banter she and Regina would throw at one another.

"Nope," Regina snapped, smacking her lips loudly. "Meant snore."

Emma bent over at the waist, cackling at her girlfriend. "Oh my god, I love you like this."

Regina tried to wink at the blonde, but ended up scrunching her nose and blinking rapidly. "You just want in m'pants, Sherf."

Emma died laughing again as the rest of the room's occupants turned bright red and quickly spun on their heels to exit the room until Regina was feeling more like herself and less like sharing details that none but Emma wanted to hear.


	13. Chapter 13

**PROMPT: BITE MARKS THAT LEAD TO MORE BITING.**

Regina sighed heavily as she hung her keys on the hook just inside the front door before hanging her coat in the nearby coat closet. It had been a terribly stressful day in the Mayor's office, and she was more than ready to curl up beside a roaring fire with her wife and a glass of wine.

She knew Henry had already made arrangements to stay at a friend's house that night, thus she needn't worry about cooking a family meal. She was much later than usual in getting home, thus it was likely her wife had already eaten, and she herself had had a quick bite while in the office.

"Emma?" she called softly as she eased out of her heels with a slight hiss followed by a long moaning sigh of appreciation as her aching feet pressed flatly to the cool marble floor. She then made her way toward the kitchen, calling out to her wife once more. "Darling, are you home?"

Again, she received no answer. Perhaps her wife had merely gotten caught up at the station and had forgotten to shoot her a quick text or call to let her know she would be late. Regardless, it didn't seem as if the blonde was home. Either that, or she was sleeping in the house somewhere and simply hadn't heard Regina's gentle call.

Regina poured herself a glass of red, and swirled it beneath her nose, taking in the scent with an appreciative hum before allowing herself a large sip. She rested against the kitchen counter for a long moment, simply letting herself relax and enjoy her wine, her gaze darting around the large room. She glanced over the few dishes in the sink that needed to be washed, the open box of cereal that Henry had left on the opposite end of the counter, the stack of mail sitting on the hutch in the corner, the damaged corner of the dining table, the—wait, what?

Regina's head snapped back in the direction of the dining table. Since when had the corner of her table been damaged? She walked over and inspected the far right corner, and she was shocked to see that the wood was chipped away almost as if…

Well, almost as if something had chewed on it. Yes, those were definitely bite marks, and undoubtedly those of an animal.

What the hell? Regina thought, blinking rapidly and looking again just to ensure that she was truly seeing what she thought she was seeing and not simply imagining things given how tired she was. But no, the corner remained chewed and gnawed, and Regina could fathom no possible explanation for such a thing.

They had no pets, and as far as she was aware, no animals had ever been inside her home unless one counted Ruby, but the werewolf had been in human form during all of her visits.

Confused and slightly wary, Regina abandoned her glass of wine and began to slowly make her way through the large mansion. She was on high alert for any possible threats. What if some wild beast had gotten into the house somehow? There was a massive stretch of woods surrounding the town after all. Regina was not about to be eaten in her own home; at least, not in any way that didn't end with her writhing in pleasure.

She summoned a fireball to her right hand and made her way through the first floor, finding nothing. She then headed for the stairs.

Her study, the guest rooms, and Henry's room were all clear, so that left only her bedroom. She carefully opened the door and was completely and utterly shocked to find the room in tatters, primarily her bed.

White clouds of stuffing and feathers littered the destroyed bed, the air, the floor, and what most took Regina by surprise was the fact that there, in the middle of her bed, was a gigantic sleeping dog.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed, and the dog instantly perked up, jerking out of its slumber.

It shot off the bed and bounded toward Regina, skidding to a stop at her feet as it finally took note of the fireball in her hand. Regina didn't know what to make of the situation.

Where the hell had this dog come from and how had it gotten into her house to destroy her dining table and bedroom? She saw destruction and bite marks everywhere, which enraged her, but the dog at her feet, as large as it was, looked up at her with huge eyes and whined as it pawed helplessly at her bare feet.

Regina looked down at the crying mutt, trying to quell her anger. Henry would be none too pleased if he found out that she had murdered a giant puppy.

She took a deep breath and forced her hand closed to douse the fireball as she stared into the dog's terrified emerald eyes. Those eyes were striking, familiar even, though the connection was eluding Regina's brain in that moment.

The dog pawed at her foot again, whining, but eventually gave up with the action as Regina merely continued to stare at it, angry and bewildered. She arched a brow at the dog as she looked down her nose at it. "What?" she snapped. "You expect me to pity you? Offer you food and shelter after you destroyed my home, you filthy mutt?"

The dog hung its head in shame, ears pasting back onto its neck, and then to Regina's further bewilderment, the dog shook its head back and forth as if it perfectly understood Regina and was responding.

"You…" Regina hesitated. Surely, it was crazy to assume that this dog had actually understood her, but then again, who was she kidding? She came from a land of magic and fairies and ogres. A talking dog was truly no stretch at all. She looked down at the dog once more and asked, "Do you understand what I am saying?"

The dog's head instantly bounced up and down in a firm nod, large emerald eyes brightening as if suddenly hopeful. Regina sucked in a soft gasp at the confirmation. "Are you even a dog?" she asked it.

It was entirely possible that someone in town had cursed a lover or a friend into animal form. People from the Enchanted Forest were not above using magic as revenge, Regina herself included, and there was no doubt that Gold would've sold someone the potion to do so if the return offer was good enough. However, why in the hell would this cursed person have ended up in her house and in her bed?

The dog quickly shook its large head back and forth. Regina, feeling encouraged, then asked, "Are you human?"

Suddenly all of her curiosities and the familiarity of those wide emerald eyes slammed forcefully home with hard realization. Regina sucked in a hard gasp. "Emma?!"

The dog barked loudly, nodding its head and whining as it pawed at Regina's feet once more. Regina cupped a hand over her mouth. "Oh gods." At first, she was struck with anger, thinking someone had cursed her wife, which would mean that that person had hell to pay, Evil-Queen style; but then she remembered that Emma had been experimenting with her magic lately, and everything seemed to click into place.

Emma sat on the floor, whining at her wife's feet, though she was elated that Regina had figured out that the dog was in fact her. She expected to be human again within seconds. She expected Regina to instantly change her back and console her about the complete embarrassment she had caused herself by accidentally turning herself into a dog.

Regina, however, seemed to completely dismiss the matter at hand and instead, glared down at her wife, and shouted, "What the hell, Emma? You destroyed our bed!"


	14. Chapter 14

**PROMPT: REGINA-CENTRIC FIC INSPIRED BY THE FOLLOWING QUOTE: "I MEAN, THEY SAY YOU DIE TWICE. ONE TIME WHEN YOU STOP BREATHING AND A SECOND TIME, A BIT LATER ON, WHEN SOMEBODY SAYS YOUR NAME FOR THE LAST TIME."**

Her final breath had been easy, swift even. It had not been labored by illness nor by a body laden with age. It had not caught in her chest or throat, but had merely whispered across her lips as her lashes fluttered and her body fell limply back into arms scrambling to catch her.

Her final breath, she had given as a sacrifice. Her life for her son's, an irreversible decision that Regina had never once nor would she ever regret. She had left her body almost within the instant that breath left her lungs.

She had watched the tears that ripped free from Henry's eyes. She heard the sharp, gasping intake of air from a small crowd of people who once had feared her and who sometimes still did. She heard the raw break in the Savior's voice as Emma rushed forward, slipping to her knees on the pavement and capturing Regina's body just before it could hit the ground.

Regina had been surprised by the action, but more surprised by what followed. She had watched as the town gathered around her slain figure, some even fighting tears she never expected to fall for her. She felt a flutter in her chest, the echo of the way her heart would have clenched at the sobs wracking her son's fragile body. She sucked in a gasp of air that she no longer needed as Emma Swan wept over her body, burying her face in chocolate locks still ripe with the smell of Regina's shampoo, and clutching tightly to a body that no longer held life.

Regina had witnessed it all, and once that trembling moment of terror and tragedy and even triumph had passed, she had expected to move on. She had expected to carry over into whatever awaited her beyond this plane of living—an eternal damnation, she assumed—a punishment for the many foul deeds she had either performed or condoned in her years on this earth.

Yet, she remained.

At first, it was disorienting, having to adjust to being exposed to the grief of her son, of Emma, and even of Snow, without the ability to comment or even comfort. It was difficult to be silent, to be unseen.

Sometimes, it was downright heartbreaking—had she a heart that beat.

As time dragged on, though, Regina became accustomed to being the invisible, silent observer. She made gentle peace with the knowledge that she could remain, even without being acknowledged.

She watched as time began to heal the wounds of her death—Henry began to smile a little more. He laughed once or twice and later many times. He ate regular meals and began to sleep through the night again.

And eventually, he even spoke to her. As he grew older, he would come home from school, from activities, from dates, and tell her all about them; almost as if he could sense her there, and Regina would just listen. She would listen and smile or possibly even scowl about Emma's choice to condone certain behaviors.

Still, she was grateful that her son had not forgotten her. He still wanted her to share his life, and she still yearned to do exactly that.

Emma was the most surprising. Regina had been utterly torn by the blonde's torment in the months following her death. She had watched, conflicted and confused, as Emma wept endlessly, sometimes so late into the night that the sun would rise again and tears would still be tainting Emma's pillow.

Phantom pains echoed along Regina's body as Emma whispered apologies in the moments when she was alone, moments when Regina found herself drawn to the Savior's side—simply appearing wherever Emma happened to be.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," she would whisper, and it ate at Regina, because she had no way of letting Emma know that none of what happened had been her fault.

But what truly splintered Regina's soul were the times when Emma's tears made her voice raw and broken, and trembling confessions escaped the blonde.

"I don't know how to do this without you," Emma would whisper late into the night, and Regina would find herself reaching out to hold the Savior's hand, despite the fact that she was no longer corporeal. She couldn't touch her, soothe her, help her. "Henry needs you. I can't do this without you. You're the strong one, the better one. I feel like I'm drowning."

Even Snow would call out for her, would cry for her, would whisper apologies to only herself. Regina always heard.

Every time someone whispered her name, she heard them. Each echo of her name, each mention of her was as a spark in her heartless chest—a sudden bursting flame of life.

White-hot and powerful and so incredibly beautiful.

Regina gasped the first time it happened, her hand shooting up to clutch at her chest as a wave of color rippled across her pale limbs and a jolting drumbeat danced beneath her palm before simply fading away.

Those tiny bursts of life faded as soon as they came, fleeting moments of what it meant to be remembered.

It was that way for years, and that is how Regina came to understand the purpose of her existence, the fact that she remained even after her final breath.

As long as she remained in the memories of others, in the voices on the tips of tongues, she would live.

It wasn't a tangible life, not something she could physically attain, but it was a life nonetheless. She felt emotions and fleeting sensations that made her crave another and another, and she was always provided with more.

Because, unlike many, Regina Mills could not be easily forgotten. She was a living legend after all. Tales remained, cycling through the ages, of the Evil Queen who once terrorized and cursed an entire realm; Regina, they would say…she was a villain.

It pained Regina to hear the words, yet that burst of life was worth it. It came regardless of the context in which it thrived.

She was more than merely that, however. Tales also remained of the Evil Queen's redemption, of the loving sacrifice of a mother for her son; Regina, they would say…she was a hero.

Decades passed in shades and echoes, in bursts of life that became fewer in number as her name began to fade into time—the life she once had lived nothing more than a memory that many had put out of their minds.

Her name sang in aged voices, those of her son, of his other mother, of her former enemy, Snow. But it came less often, it touched tongues only on special occasions. Birthdays, holidays, and eventually, hardly any days at all.

When Snow passed, those bursts of life became even fewer, and Regina wondered, truly, how much time she had left—how many more sparks of a flame that had long gone cold would lick across the void where her heart had once lain.

What she wondered most, though, was how her final burst of life would come about. Would she ignite one final time as a villain or as a hero before fading into whatever afterlife existed for the gone and forgotten?

She could only hope and assume that the final whispered cadence of her name would be upon her son's tongue, and surely, he would let her die a hero.

It wasn't, though. Henry passed before his only remaining mother, taken swiftly in an accident—a drunk driver recklessly weaving on a cold winter's night.

Regina had grieved for him, but mostly for Emma, which surprised her. But she found herself wishing she could wipe away the tears from the Savior's wrinkled cheeks that day in the hot sun while they lowered Henry's casket into the ground.

Regina stayed with Emma after that, another long year, and another, and another. The blonde weathered many a storm and many trials, but she survived—outliving the entirety of her family.

She kept Regina alive through little whispers that seemed to escape from her dreams. Regina would sit on the edge of Emma's bed, unfelt and unseen, and watch as the elderly blonde, hair still golden despite her age, would twitch in her sleep and whisper Regina's name or Henry's or Snow's.

And sometimes, Regina would hover a hand atop Emma's leg, hoping to soothe her, and strangely enough, the closer Emma drew to her own final breath, the more Regina believed she could feel her.

For Regina would lay her hand over Emma's leg, and the older woman would calm almost instantly, breathing deeply and easily once more.

Regina never expected her final burst of life to be given to her by the woman fated to destroy her—the woman she had grown to respect and on some level, even care about.

Yet, it was precisely Emma who gave her that last, fleeting gift.

It happened on a warm summer morning. Emma was seated in her rocking chair, her breaths labored and her hands trembling as she clutched an old scrapbook full of photos. She flipped to the very back, and Regina smiled softly as she watched Emma's gnarled and knobby fingers rub over a very old photo of Regina and Henry.

Regina stood behind Henry in the photo, the small boy smiling up at her as she smiled down at him, her arms slung around his neck. They looked happy, truly happy.

"I think I'll see you soon, Henry," Emma wheezed out as she rubbed the photo, and Regina felt tears sting in her eyes, tears she knew she didn't actually have and could never cry, but even after decades, the sensation was still there. She knew Emma's time was drawing near.

And then it happened. Emma said her name, one final time, and Regina was surprised to hear that her final title was neither villain nor hero.

But love.

Just love.

Emma pressed a finger to Regina's face in the photo, stroking it gently. "Regina," she whispered shakily, the word more of a sigh than anything. "I always loved you."

That white-hot burst of pulsing life ripped through Regina's chest like a sunflame, elevating her like a burning phoenix, and then the roar of the flame quieted, the life leaked away.

And Regina was finally freed in Emma Swan's last and lasting words.


	15. Chapter 15

**PROMPT: TINKERBELL DRUNKENLY FLIRTING WITH EMMA, MAKING REGINA PICTURE THREESOMES.**

"I love your hair," Tink said, her words slurring as she reached out and twirled her fingers around a long blonde lock of Emma's hair. They stood by the bar at Granny's, Tink and Emma on side-by-side stools with Regina on the other side of Emma. Tink was already completely wasted. Emma wasn't far behind, and Regina was fairly tipsy herself.

The former queen rolled her eyes at Tink's completely unsubtle flirting with her girlfriend. It was so like Tink. Every time the petite fairy drank, she ended up flirting with Emma or Regina despite the fact that the Savior and the Evil Queen were in a relationship. It often made Emma uncomfortable or entirely too smug, while it merely made Regina laugh.

"Uh…thanks," Emma told the fairy, reaching up to pull Tink's hands away from her hair. "Yours is nice too."

Regina snorted at that, and she nearly cackled aloud when Tink batted her lashes and asked, "Do you want to touch it? It's soft too."

"No, I'm good," Emma told her. "I believe you."

"Just touch it, dear," Regina interjected, reaching over to pat Emma's thigh. "She's not going to shut up until you do."

Emma sighed but laughed at her girlfriend before reaching over to touch Tink's hair. She nearly gasped at how soft it actually was. She hadn't been expecting it to actually be that soft. In fact, it was almost unnaturally soft.

"Wow," Emma said, the word thick in her throat as the alcohol in her system buzzed deliciously. She instantly leaned forward and threw both of her hands into Tink's hair, running her fingers against the fairy's scalp.

Regina arched a brow at that, and she grit her teeth, preparing for the sudden wave of jealousy that would undoubtedly hit her and make her want to lash out at someone. However…

"What is that?" Emma asked, her hands still running through Tink's hair. "Why is it so soft?"

"Fairy dust," Tink husked, and instead of jealousy, Regina felt a wave of heat curl through her system. "All fairies have it on their skin. It makes my hair soft."

"Wow," Emma whispered again, moving closer to the fairy.

Regina couldn't take her eyes off of the way Tink was biting her lip and Emma's hands were moving so sensually through the fairy's hair. Unbidden, an image of the three of them flashed through her mind.

"Oh gods," Regina muttered as her body vibrated with the mental image of she and her girlfriend having a threesome with Tinkerbell.

She closed her eyes as the images shot through her mind, the two blondes simultaneously pleasuring her. "Oh GODS," she said again, unaware that she had even said it out loud.

"Regina?"

Regina's eyes snapped open and she saw her girlfriend standing right in front of her. "You okay?" Emma asked. "Look, are you…you're not jealous or mad are you? Her hair is just so soft. I mean have you felt it?!" Emma's words came out thick and slurred, and Regina tried to focus on them rather than the thrumming pulse between her legs.

"Mm," she hummed. She then jumped off her stool and grabbed her girlfriend's hand. "Let's go," she said quickly, tugging the blonde's hand. She then stopped and hesitated a moment, glancing back at the now forlorn looking fairy. Regina sucked in a quick breath before darting back and grabbing Tink's hand as well.

"You too, dear."


	16. Chapter 16

**PROMPT: REGINA IS SICK, SO SHE SENDS HENRY TO STAY WITH EMMA WITHOUT SAYING WHY SO THAT HE WON'T SEE HER SO VULNERABLE.**

Emma glanced down at her phone when it dinged to inform her of one new text message from her son.

_Ma, come get me, plz._

Emma shrugged as she tapped out a quick response.

_Where r u? Y do u need me 2 come get u?_

Henry was extremely quick with texting, so it was only a few seconds before her phone beeped with another message.

_I'm home, but u gotta come get me bc Mom says I have to stay w/u a few days._

Emma's brows furrowed at that. That was strange.

_Uh, ok, but y does she need u to stay w me?_

A moment later, her phone beeped with two different messages.

_Idk Ma. Just come get me when ur done w work or w/e ur doing._

_Miss Swan, stop asking questions and come and retrieve Henry. Also, work on your spelling and grammar. Your influence is wearing off on Henry._

Emma rolled her eyes at that and tapped out another fast message to both members of the Mills' family.

_K kid. OTW._

_Sorry Regina. It's just faster to text that way. I will be there soon. Also, why do you need me to keep Henry?_

Emma laughed out loud at the expected response from the Mayor.

_That is none of your business._

_Whatever you say, Regina, _Emma responded, _but you know I'll find out._

* * *

Emma tried to glimpse or even speak to Regina when she went to pick up their son, but the brunette woman was nowhere to be found. Henry simply met her at the door with his overnight bag and shrugged as he said, "She's in her room."

He then shouted "BYE MOM!" and took off for the car.

"Oh, okay," Emma replied, though that only made her more curious. She had half the mind to run up the stairs and peek in on Regina to see whatever it was the woman was hiding. And she knew that the Mayor had to be hiding something, because Regina rarely gave up time with Henry and always had a very specific reason and a very specific time span for when she would be retrieving him once more.

This was far too open-ended for Emma not to want to investigate. Her eyes narrowed as she stared into the foyer of the house, because Henry had simply walked past her and left the door open. She glanced back at her son before sticking her head through the open door and listening for any sounds.

She heard nothing and was about to close the door when she heard a loud coughing fit echo from upstairs. Was Regina sick?

Interesting, Emma thought, and she couldn't deny that a flash of worry sparked in her mind. Regardless of how much they fought, Emma cared a lot about the mother of her son.

That was when an idea struck her.

* * *

Emma slid Henry's key into the lock of the mansion's front door before slipping quietly inside with the large paper bag from Granny's. She tiptoed into the kitchen and pulled out the to-go container of chicken noodle soup and transferred it to a bowl with a side of crackers and some Sprite.

She put it all on a small tray and made her way up the grand staircase. She took a deep breath before carefully reaching out to knock on Regina's bedroom door.

She heard the woman within startle before a raspy soft voice quietly called out, "Henry? Is that you?"

"Uh, nope," Emma answered. "It's Emma."

"Go away."

"Come on, Regina," Emma said. "I know you're sick. Open up."

A moment later, the bedroom door cracked open and a very pale, tired looking Regina peeked out. Emma held up the tray and shrugged as she softly said, "Hi."

Regina's eyes narrowed for a moment before she relented and opened the door far enough for the Sheriff to enter.

Emma walked carefully inside and set the tray down on a bedside table.

"What is the meaning of this, Sheriff?" Regina asked, crossing her arms over her robed chest. "And how did you know that I wasn't feeling well?"

"I heard you coughing when I came to pick Henry up, and it made sense seeing as how you didn't want to tell Henry why he had to stay with me. You hate being vulnerable."

Regina bit her lip to keep from snapping out an insult, because as much as she didn't want to admit it, the Sheriff was entirely right. It amazed her sometimes how well Emma knew her.

"And the meaning of this," Emma continued, a blush spreading over her cheeks, "is that I'm…well, I'm taking care of you."

Their eyes met for only a moment, and though Regina remained silent, she could not deny the drumming that had erupted inside her chest.


	17. Chapter 17

**PROMPT: REGINA REVEALS/TELLS/BRAGS TO SNOW ABOUT HER RELATIONSHIP WITH EMMA.**

Since Neverland, Snow had been randomly inviting Regina over for dinner. It was her attempt at sparking a strangely comfortable yet simultaneously awkward and tense friendship with her former stepmother. Regina played along, because playing happy little family put her in Snow and Charming's somewhat-good, but still not-so-great graces, and that helped ease things overall.

Normally, she wouldn't care, but she refused to draw Henry into the middle of their ages-old feud any longer; plus, these days, Regina truly was much happier than she could ever recall being.

Her relationship with Henry was not only on the mend, but thriving. She no longer evoked constant jeers or screams from the townspeople, and she was getting laid on a regular basis. Relatively, she believed she may have found love again.

Regina had made her thoughts on the matter of her relationship with the Savior very clear. She was quite ready to go public with their romance; or at least, to inform their shared son and Emma's parents. Emma, however, was on the opposite side of the fence. She kept using the excuse of letting things "settle down" first, despite the fact that it had been nearly nine months since their return from the land of demented teens, and as far as Regina was concerned, things were pretty damn settled.

It was obvious to the former queen that Emma was merely avoiding telling Snow and Charming for fear of their reaction to their precious daughter being in bed, let alone in love, with none other than their mortal enemy.

Sweet, sweet revenge, Regina thought as she settled into her chair at Snow's dining table. The revenge (which she hoped would come in the form of Snow White's completely flabbergasted expression, mortified reaction, and possible fainting) was a mere bonus. The true prize was the deep, caring relationship she shared with Emma—the way the Savior of all people had lightened her heart.

Still, a girl had to have some fun every now and then, right? And since Henry would not be joining them that evening given that he was staying with a friend (yes, he finally had a few friends since his return from Neverland), it was the perfect time.

Regina saw a perfect opportunity as she looked over the various dinner dishes set about the center of the table. Her brow arched at the sight of a small plate of spiced apples next to the roast.

"Apples?" she questioned softly, smirking a bit as Snow's head snapped up and locked gazes with her.

Snow laughed awkwardly after a moment, shrugging as she said, "Well, _I_ made them, so at least we know they're safe."

"You never complained about my apple dishes when you were younger and would drag me down to the kitchens in the middle of the night," Regina retaliated.

"Yes, well, that was before you put me in a sleeping curse," Snow bit back, though she attempted to keep her tone cool and collected. She was not going to let this dinner be ruined by Regina's sass. "And then attempted to do the same to my daughter."

"Emma was quite happy to taste my forbidden fruit, actually," Regina instantly quipped, and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud when she heard Emma audibly choke next to her, which evolved into a full-on coughing fit.

Snow, though, completely missed the innuendo. "Well, of course Emma was eager to take the apple. She enjoys apples, and you disguised the curse in an apple turnover. Still, she never ate it."

"Oh, but she di—" Regina was cut off by Emma smacking the hell out of her thigh under the table. They glared at one another for a long moment before Regina cut her eyes back to Snow. "Shall we eat?" she bit out.

* * *

"Emma, did you not try any of the roast?" Snow asked, her brows furrowing as she glanced over at her daughter's plate.

"Oh, Emma doesn't much care for meat," Regina quickly answered for the blonde. "Pie, though. She can eat pie for days."

Emma face-palmed while Snow merely stared between the two of them, confused.

* * *

"Oh, the kids are always excited to talk about your story," Snow told Emma as they all relaxed on the couches in the living room after dinner—Snow and Charming on one and Regina and Emma on the other. Snow then nodded at Regina and added, "Yours too, Regina, but they are all fascinated with the prophecy about Emma's birth and destiny to break the curse."

Emma smiled awkwardly and shrugged her shoulders, "Not a big deal, really."

"Oh but it is," Snow said. "You don't have to be ashamed of it, honey. You're the Savior. You should be proud, though some of the kids do bring up good points about the prophecy."

"Like?" Emma asked.

"Well…" Snow hesitated, her eyes darting over to Regina as if she was unsure whether she should say her next words aloud.

"Out with it, Snow," Regina snapped. "If it involves me, I assure you, I am not as sensitive as you. It will hardly faze me, I'm sure."

Snow cleared her throat and nodded. "Well, some of the kids don't understand why the Evil Queen wasn't destroyed by the Savior."

Regina snorted with laughter at that. "Please," she drawled, rolling her eyes.

Emma just stared at her mom. "What? Seriously? Like…they mean I should've _killed _her?"

Snow grimaced a bit but basically confirmed, and Regina just snorted with laughter once more, while Emma's jaw dropped a bit. "Did the prophecy really say that I was supposed to kill her? I thought I was just destined to like break the curse or whatever, and I don't know…_conquer _the Evil Queen or something."

"Oh, well in that case," Regina quickly cut in, smiling mischievously, "prophecy _thoroughly _fulfilled." She then turned back to Snow. "She most certainly conquered me, many times. In fact, I don't think I've ever felt so thoroughly conquered in all my life."

Emma's entire face turned the color of one of Regina's apples as she choked on her own saliva and smacked Regina's leg, though this time, the action was fully visible to the two people sitting across from them.

Charming and Snow's eyes narrowed as they watched the interaction. "What's going on with you two?" Charming asked. "You've been acting weird since you got here."

"Nothing," Emma quickly answered. "We're good."

"Indeed," Regina agreed, nodding, though she could not shake the smirk from her lips. "Nothing at all is wrong, dears, except that neither of you has understood a single one of the not-so-subtle hints I've made about your daughter and I sleeping together on a regular basis."

"Oh god," Emma groaned, dropping her head into her hands, while Charming and Snow both just gaped at Regina.

"Oh my," Regina said, sighing and stretching happily, "I feel much better now that that is out there, don't you all? Mm, yes, you of all people should be happy, Snow. We now have love all around."

"LOVE?!" Snow exclaimed, suddenly finding her voice again.

Emma's head snapped to the left. "Love?" she reiterated, though quieter, hopeful.

Regina turned and smiled slowly at her, reaching out a hand and cupping it around Emma's cheek. She said nothing, merely opting to nod softly, and a smile instantly blasted across the Savior's face.

"What the hell is going on here?" Charming finally cut in, completely confused, though not entirely outraged.

Regina popped to her feet and took Emma's hand. "My ultimate revenge, dears," she joked, cackling as she and the Savior disappeared in a swirl of purple smoke.


	18. Chapter 18

**PROMPT: REGINA TEACHES EMMA TRADITIONAL DANCES FROM THE ENCHANTED FOREST.**

"It's called a fergen-what?" Emma asked, face scrunching as she shook her head at her fiancee. "Like fergalicious? Because I never really was a big fan of the Black-Eyed Peas."

Regina merely rolled her eyes at her. "No, dear," she answered, sighing. "It's called the Ferendore, and it has nothing to do with black-eyed peas."

Emma huffed out a breath. "Well, excuse me."

"Darling, do you want to learn or not?" Regina asked, the words coming out snappier than she intended, but she was losing her patience. They had been at this for nearly an hour now, and Emma had only _poorly _learned the steps to one of the Enchanted Forest's traditional dances—The Padadu.

"No, not really," Emma told her honestly, bugging her eyes out in annoyance. "I friggin' _have _to learn. You know this. I don't know why the hell we have to do this stupid ball thing. We're not _in _the friggin' Enchanted Forest. Why can't we just do the damn electric slide and be done with it?"

Regina chuckled softly as she leaned her hip against the back of the couch where they had moved it back from its usual spot in order to provide more room for dancing. "Your mother is rather traditional," she said, nodding. "It's the curse of being born into royalty. She believes we require a royal ball to announce our engagement simply because that is how she was raised to believe. You _are _a princess after all."

"_You're _a queen," Emma grumbled.

"That only furthers her case," Regina told her. She sighed as she then moved forward and ran her hands along the lengths of Emma's arms, up and down in a soothing rub. "I'm not entirely happy with it either, my love, but it is for one night only, and it will shut your insufferable mother up."

Emma laughed softly. "Well, why do we have to do these dances?"

"As I said, tradition."

"But we have to learn _all of them_?"

"Of course not," Regina told her, "merely the core five. Your mother is likely to choose from those, and you are only required to dance twice—once with me and once with your father, of course."

"Okay, fine," Emma huffed, leaning forward to tuck her face into Regina's neck and wrap her arm's around the brunette's warm body. She mumbled her next words against the flesh of Regina's neck. "What are they again?"

"The Padadu, which you have learned," Regina began, and Emma snorted into her neck, shrugging against Regina's body.

"You mean the weird-ass pony prance?" she mocked and Regina just rubbed small circles into her back and laughed.

"Indeed," she agreed, because honestly, that dance was completely ridiculous, as were most of the traditional dances of the Enchanted Forest. They were all terribly dramatic, complex, and ridiculously boring. Regina had always loathed having to dance at royal balls, especially when Snow would drag her out onto the floor and force Regina to dance with her to every damn song that played.

"Then," she continued, "there is the Ferendore, which isn't terribly difficult. It's mostly a lot of skipping, clapping, and changing partners. Then there is the Canasto, which is a more sensual dance, and is typically only taken up by established couples on the dance floor."

"Ooo," Emma hummed against Regina's neck, causing the brunette to laugh. "Is it naughty, because I could get down with you grinding on me for a bit?"

Regina felt that familiar tug low in her stomach as she pinched at Emma's sides playfully. "As if your mother would ever allow that at her precious ball."

"I thought you said it was our ball," Emma laughed out, pulling back to press a soft kiss to her fiancee's lips.

"Oh, make no mistake, my darling," Regina told her, grinning, "your mother may _say _this ball is for us, but I think you and I both know that she simply wants to have a ball."

"True," Emma agreed, turning from Regina's arms to grab her bottle of water from where she'd set it on the bookshelf a few feet away. She took a swig before asking, "Okay, so what are the last two then?"

"Right," Regina said, nodding. "The Taranto, which was always my favorite, because it is very short and only a few simple moves. You will likely prefer it, and then lastly, there is my least favorite—the Boledo."

"Sounds like Italian food," Emma said, shrugging.

"No, dear," Regina replied, shaking her head. "Believe me, _were _it Italian food, I would be much more likely to enjoy it."

Emma laughed at that. "So what's so bad about it?"

"It is customary to tap the behind of your partner each time you change partners," Regina told her, grimacing as if unwanted memories were flooding her mind, "and you change partners at least six times in one dance."

"Oh hells no," Emma told her, shaking her head hard and fast. "Uh uh. Where's my phone?" She glanced around before spotting the device and zipping across the room to grab it. She punched a few buttons before planting one hand on her hip and pressing to activate speakerphone.

"Hello?" a voice answered after two rings.

Regina had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud when Emma said, "Look Mom, I love you, but there is no way in fairytale hell that me _or _my fiancee are tappin' anybody's asses, okay? So, you can just scratch that Bologna dance off the list."

At that, Regina couldn't hold it in anymore. She just died laughing, and a moment later, Mary Margaret's voice came back through the line.

"Regina, stop lying about the dances."

Regina laughed even harder.


	19. Chapter 19

**PROMPT: EMMA HAS A NIGHTMARE ABOUT ONE OF HER FOSTER PARENTS.**

Regina woke on the third whining groan from her bedmate. She rubbed at her eyes to clear away the haze of sleep and squinted through the dark of her bedroom. Before she could even truly adjust to the waking world again, though, golden curls tossed into the air as Emma's entire body jolted and thrashed next to her.

"No, no, please," Emma groaned, the words coming out in soft yet aching whimpers. "Don't put me…closet."

"Emma…" Regina said gently, carefully reaching over to touch her lover's arm. "Emma, dear."

As soon as her fingers touched Emma's arm, the blonde began to thrash once more. "No, please, I'll…good. No closet."

Regina's heart clenched painfully in her chest at the sheer pleading tone of Emma's voice—how young and truly terrified the woman sounded in that moment. She could no longer stand to endure it, thus she sucked in a quick breath and launched across the bed.

Regina grabbed Emma's shoulders tightly and shook her a bit while loudly and clearly voicing, "Emma! Wake up, dear. It is only a dream. EMMA!"

Deep green eyes snapped open and thin pink lips parted to gasp for a relieving breath. Tears instantly pooled in those forest eyes, glimmering in the bits of moonlight streaming in from the window, as Emma stared up at the woman who was now practically sitting on top of her.

"Sorry," she mumbled, her voice broken with the weight of her effort to hold back her tears. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"Would you like to tell me about the dream?" Regina asked softly.

Emma shook her head dismissively, letting out a ragged breath. "Just my past. Fucking foster parents."

"They put you in a closet?" Regina asked slowly, cautiously, not wanting to further upset her lover.

"Did I say that?" Emma asked, eyes widening in the dark.

"Yes."

Emma let out a heavy sigh as her hands found their way to Regina's thighs and rested gently there. She just wanted to be touching her, gripping her, anchoring herself to her new reality. To happiness. To comfort. To love.

"Yeah," she admitted after a moment of silence. "She didn't feed us much and when we asked for food or were caught trying to steal from her snack stash, she would lock us in the hall closet. It was so small that it felt like the walls were breathing on you, like they were part of your skin or something. Sometimes, she'd leave us in there for hours…so long that your eyes felt like fire when you finally came out because you forgot what the light was like. I still can't really handle small spaces."

Regina steeled herself and sucked in a trembling breath as she fought back her own tears. She knew well what an abusive mother could be like, and she hated that Emma had endured such a terrible experience, and that was merely one of what could have been many. She let out her breath in a wet sigh as she reached forward and cupped a tender hand around Emma's cheek.

"It was only a dream, love," she whispered. "You are safe here."

"Yeah?" Emma asked, the word hardly more than breath.

"Yes," Regina told her firmly. "You are safe with me, and…"

"And?"

"And you are loved."


	20. Chapter 20

**PROMPT: EMMA GIVES REGINA A PUPPY FOR CHRISTMAS.**

"I positively loathe pranks, Emma," Regina told her girlfriend, narrowing her eyes in suspicion at the large box that the blonde had very gently scooted in front of her, "unless of course it is at someone else's expense, most preferably your mother's."

The two had taken the night of Christmas Eve to open their presents for one another in private, and would share the following morning with Henry. They sat in Regina's study, side by side on the cozy couch in front of the fireplace, and exchanged the three or four gifts each that they had gotten one another.

It had finally come down to one.

"It's not a prank, babe," Emma laughed out. "I swear."

"The box is moving!" Regina exclaimed. "And there are holes punched along the top. If these are not tell-tale signs of a prank, then I don't know what is."

"Regina," Emma drawled, "it is NOT a prank." She enunciated every word before saying, "I promise you."

"Fine," Regina snapped, reaching carefully toward the box, "but if anything comes popping out, I cannot be held responsible for setting it ablaze."

"Deal," Emma told her, knowing what was in the box was far too small to actually come popping out.

Regina slowly untied the giant purple ribbon that had been fashioned into a bow atop the lid of the box, and once it fell away, she reached for the lid. She couldn't deny that she was a bit nervous. Despite Emma's promise, Regina was still expecting something to jump out and attempt to scare her or embarrass her, and she was not a fan of either option.

However, when she quickly yanked off the lid and jerked back just a bit in preparation, absolutely nothing happened.

Emma snorted a bit with laughter and Regina cut her a glare before bending forward to peer down into the giant box. What she found inside completely surprised her.

At the bottom of the box lay a small Dalmatian puppy. It had only a few spots and rolled around, sniffing at the box's sides and scratching with its tiny paws.

Regina's heart instantly melted in her chest, but she did her best to school her features as she turned to arch a brow at her girlfriend. "A puppy?" she asked, doing her best to sound completely and utterly indifferent to the adorable little beast.

"Yeah…uh, I thought you would like her," Emma said, blushing a bit. "I thought _we _could raise her together."

"Dogs are a terrible responsibility," Regina sighed shaking her head. "She will destroy my home."

"I can help train her," Emma told her quickly, and Regina had to look away from the hope in those big emerald eyes. "Will you at least hold her before you pass judgment?"

Regina sighed dramatically before reaching down into the box and latching onto the tiny puppy. As soon as the pup's soft fur and warm little rounded belly molded against Regina's hands, the former queen knew she was hooked. And when the spotty little pup looked up at her with big blue eyes and a tiny, pink nose, Regina melted all over again.

"Oh, you love her, don't you?" Emma chuckled. "She's too cute for even the Evil Queen to resist."

"She is…acceptable," Regina said as she unconsciously clutched the Dalmatian to her chest. Emma leveled her with a disbelieving stare, and Regina huffed out a hard breath. "Fine, she is adorable."

"Thought so."


	21. Chapter 21

**PROMPT: ONE WORD—"EXPERIENCES"**

A soft, warm hand tickled across the ridges of her ribs, and Regina jerked at the sensation. She rolled over, yawning and stretching in the process, until she was facing the opposite direction in bed.

"Hi," came the soft greeting from thin, pink lips. Emerald eyes twinkling in the small bits of sunlight streaming through the windows gazed at her as if she was the most beautiful creature, despite Regina knowing that she likely had terribly frizzy bed head, smudged bits of makeup left behind on her eyes, and morning breath. Still, Emma's adoring gaze settled atop her and inside her like an electric sensation, a buzzing reminder that she was worthy; that she was not alone.

Regina reached out and traced her fingers over Emma's cheek as she smiled softly in greeting.

"You look incredible," Emma whispered, turning her head just slightly to kiss the inside of Regina's palm.

Regina chuckled, the sound raspy with sleep. "You are biased."

"Just honest," Emma countered, grinning. "How'd you sleep?"

"Wonderfully, dear, as always," Regina told her softly. "And you?"

Emma reached out and wrapped her arms around Regina's waist, yanking the woman closer. "Like a baby."

"Mm," Regina hummed. "Good." She cupped a hand over her mouth as she yawned yet again, and Emma just laid there, rubbing her sides and holding her. There was such an ease about them, the kind of comfortable routine only developed through years of waking up with the same person every day.

Emma pulled one hand back and rubbed at her eye, scratching out the little crusty bits that had gathered during sleep. "What're we doing today?" she asked around a yawn. "Since we're both off work and all that."

Regina smiled softly at her and shook her head against the pillow. "Stay in bed all day?" she whispered, running one hand along the plane of Emma's exposed stomach where her tank had ridden up in the night. "I can think of many ways to occupy your time, dear."

Emma laughed softly. Her wife never failed to make her heart race and her body quiver. "Good god, woman, we're going to waste away in this bed, you know? We've been together fifteen years, and we can still spend whole days in bed. Don't you wanna see the world or something?"

Regina leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her wife's shoulder. "What do you mean? Would you rather not stay in?"

"No babe," Emma told her quickly, shaking her head. "That's not what I meant. I just meant that we've had such an awesome life so far, but we never really go places, you know? And I'm cool with that. I'm happy to be wherever you are, and I know we had Henry for a lot of that time, and our jobs are pretty demanding. It's just that…"

"What, darling?"

"It's just that I don't want you to feel like you're missing out, you know?" Emma told her. "I saw this thing online last night about this couple who spent almost a whole year just traveling around the world and experiencing everything. And it made me realize that I haven't really given you anything like that. I haven't taken you on any big adventures."

Regina let out a soft, melodic sigh as she inched even closer to her wife, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest. She reached up and cupped her hand around the blonde's cheek once more. "We've had many wonderful experiences, love. Besides, I don't need any of that to be happy."

Emma still looked a bit conflicted as she locked gazes with Regina. "You don't want a life full of adventures?"

A gorgeous smile slipped across Regina's lips then as she shook her head against the pillow and quietly said, "Emma, I've had adventure. Loving you has been the greatest adventure of my life."


	22. Chapter 22

**PROMPT: EMMA HAS THE CHICKEN POX, AND ALL SHE WANTS IS FOR HER WIFE TO CUDDLE HER.**

"More," Emma whined, reaching out for the bottle of calamine lotion.

"Honey, there is already an inch-thick coating over most of your body," Regina told her through a small paper mask over her nose and mouth, pulling the nearly empty bottle out of her wife's reach.

Emma whined again, her face flushed with her fever. "But it itches!"

"I'm aware," Regina replied, "but applying more and more lotion is not going to relieve the itching. Either the standard amount will work, or it won't, and if it doesn't begin to soothe within a few minutes, then we will try another option."

"God, I feel horrible," Emma groaned, scooting down the plastic cover that Regina had placed over their bed to prevent Emma from getting bright pink lotion all over their luxury sheets. "My whole body hurts and itches and I'm frickin' freezing, Regina!"

"No, dear, you're not freezing," Regina argued, reaching out to press the back of her hand, encased in a thin latex glove, to Emma's forehead. She could feel the heat on the blonde's flesh even through the glove's material. "You simply _think_ you are. You have a fever."

"Stop wearing all that crap," Emma snapped. "I'm not dying of the plague." She then held her arms open and poked out her bottom lip. "Just hold me."

"You are such a baby when you're sick," Regina told her, chuckling softly. "It's painfully adorable and annoying."

Emma huffed out a hot breath as she shivered on the plastic sheet. "You're so meeeeeeean. Just hold me already."

"Would you _like _for me to turn ill as well?" Regina asked her. "You know neither Henry nor I ever had the chicken pox because time was frozen his entire life, and thus none of the kids in town were ever able to come down with it. I am terribly surprised, however, that you even managed to catch it now that it's running rampant amongst Storybrooke's residents. I assumed with as many children as you were exposed to during your time in the system, you would have gotten it at a young age."

"Too many words," Emma grumbled, reaching down to scratch furiously at her arms. "Less talking, more snuggling."

Regina instantly smacked Emma's hands away. "Stop scratching!"

"I can't!"

Regina sighed as she pulled Emma's hair away from her face and neck, where it was sticking to the lotion just under her jawline. She felt terrible for Emma, because it was painfully obvious how uncomfortable her wife was, but at the same time, Regina didn't have a clue what do to for her other than to simply be present and apply lotion from time to time. She knew Emma wanted to be held, to be comforted, much like Henry always wanted when he was little and had the occasional tummy ache, but Regina was afraid of being infected and then passing it on to Henry as well.

She had pulled their son from school until the little epidemic passed, and she had basically barricaded Emma in their bedroom. She was taking as many precautions as possible. Regina couldn't deny the urge to give in to her wife's pleas, though, and just hold her—offer her that physical form of comfort.

"Perhaps you should try to sleep," Regina told her gently. "Your mother said it helped her to stop scratching when she had it last week. She's feeling much better now by the way."

"How am I supposed to sleep when I'm covered in devil spots and my wife won't hold me?!"

Regina rolled her eyes before standing from the bed and moving over to the balcony doors. She pulled the curtains tightly closed over them to shade the room. She then turned on the sound machine next to the bed that Emma insisted they sleep with every night, and let the music of frogs and rain and birds fill the room.

"Does that help?"

"Cocoa," Emma huffed out after a moment, her face scrunched like a whiny toddler's.

Regina just chuckled and nodded, slipping quietly out of the room to get cocoa for her wife. When she returned, Emma looked like a deer caught in the headlights, her hands freezing in place over her arms and her fingernails coated in the pink lotion she had just scratched off.

Regina sighed and shook her head. "I told you not to scratch. You're going to scar if you don't stop."

Emma pretended like she didn't hear her and reached out for the cocoa. She took a long sip once Regina handed it to her, begrudgingly grumbling a quiet "Thank you."

"Don't be angry with me," Regina told her, unconsciously patting Emma's thigh as she perched on the edge of the bed and looked down at her ill and spotted wife. "You know it is best if we don't _both _come down with the chicken pox."

Emma continued to pout as she cuddled a plastic-covered pillow and avoided Regina's eyes. After a long moment of silence, she quietly said, "I know."

Regina smiled behind her paper mask, still patting Emma's thigh, and the smile only grew when her wife then whispered, "Can I at least get a kiss? Like through that mask thing."

Regina laughed softly. "Of course, darling," she whispered, and then bent and pressed a tender kiss to the tip of Emma's pink nose, a smudge of pink left behind on the paper mask. "Now sleep."


	23. Chapter 23

**PROMPT: FLUFF. SWANQUEEN MOMMIES.**

Regina and Emma shot off the bench and took off at a sprint. Regina somehow managed to rip across the dirt without her heels sinking in and sending her tumbling to the ground. The woman had skills where heels were concerned.

"I told you this was a bad idea!" Regina snapped, smacking her wife's arm even as they sprinted across the dirt and out into the green grass of the outfield.

"It's just baseball!" Emma panted back. "I didn't think the kid would take a pop fly right to the face. That's what the glove is for, to like catch the ball so it doesn't hit you in the face."

Regina shot her a glare as they finally reached the place where the players were all gathered around a fallen Henry. "That's unfair," Regina argued. "The sun was in his eyes."

Emma snorted with a soft chuckle, shaking her head. "I'm sure he's fine, Regina."

Regina pushed at the kids surrounding her son, but when they didn't budge, she loudly cleared her throat, raised her voice a bit, and said, "Evil Queen coming through!"

The kids parted like the red sea, and Regina smirked before dropping to her knees at Henry's side. He was sitting on the ground with one hand cupped over his nose. "I'b fine, bob," he said, his voice muffled behind his hand.

"That's your mom, kid, not Bob," Emma laughed out. She then poked teasingly at her wife and said, "Maybe we should rush him to the hospital. He's obviously disoriented, Bob!"

Both Henry and Regina rolled their eyes at her, though Henry definitely appreciated Emma making light of the situation in an attempt to keep Regina calm. His brunette mother could get seriously worked up over the smallest things, especially where Henry was concerned.

"Move your hand, dear," Regina told their son, but he shook his head in answer.

"Come on, kid," Emma chimed in, reaching out to grab Henry's wrist and tugging. "Let us see."

He let her pull his hand away and both Emma and Regina gasped at the amount of blood that was steadily escaping Henry's nose where the ball had smacked him. His hand was coated red from holding it, but neither sight was as jarring as the odd angle his nose was now sitting at.

"Oh Henry!" Regina exclaimed, while Emma grimaced and patted his back. She then hissed a loud "Ow!" as Regina smacked her again.

"I _told _you!" the brunette snapped.

Emma smacked her hands back. "Okay, fine, fine. You told me, but in all fairness, Henry _wanted_ to play."

"You guys," Henry interjected, grimacing as the words made his face move and pain shot through his nose. His eyes were already starting to blacken. He spit out the bit of blood that had fallen into his mouth and asked, "Broken?"

Emma continued to grimace as she nodded and patted her son's back again. "It's okay, though, kid. Your mom can fix you right up, and then you'll just have a funny story to tell about your first baseball game. No big deal."

Regina just shook her head, sighing. "This is going to hurt, Henry," she told their son, and her heart clenched painfully at the thought of causing him any further ache.

"S'okay," he told her, nodding. "Go 'head."

"Hold his hand, Emma," Regina told her wife, and Emma nodded, slipping one hand into Henry's clean one, while keeping her other hand braced against his back.

"Okay, dear, on the count of three," Regina told them both. "One, two—" She flicked her wrist quickly and a loud crack echoed through the air as his nose instantly snapped back into place.

Henry let out a bone-chilling scream that quickly devolved into a sigh of relief. The pain was already subsiding. "Thanks, Mom," he huffed out after a few moments.

She nodded, tears in her eyes, and flicked her wrist again to clean away all the blood. Regina and Emma then pulled Henry into a tight hug, their arms encasing the boy and each other. Henry just patted their arms, and said, "Okay guys, you can let go now."


	24. Chapter 24

**PROMPT: SNOW BARGES INTO REGINA AND EMMA'S WEDDING JUST TO HAVE A LITTLE FUN.**

"Where's Mom?" Emma asked, her voice shaky as she stood in a white dress behind a curtain and peeked out on the small crowd of wedding guests.

"She might be a bit late," David said, smiling apologetically. "Sorry honey. She forgot something at the loft."

"It's my wedding day!" Emma hissed. "She's my mom and she's friggin Snow White! She's supposed to love stuff like this and want to be here every second."

David chuckled as he patted his daughter's hand. "She'll be here, honey. Now, we have to walk."

Emma sucked in a breath. She was nervous, though she didn't know why. She couldn't wait to see Regina. They were walking down the aisle together, two separate aisles opposite one another with Emma on David's arm and Regina on Henry's. Emma was so happy she could burst, but where the hell was her mother?

"Okay, let's do this."

* * *

Emma and Regina stood across from one another, holding hands and smiling softly, both in beautiful white gowns and both with tears in their eyes.

Just as the officiator was about to begin speaking, though, the doors to the cathedral burst open and in walked Snow.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, a huge smile on her mouth.

Everyone gaped at her for a moment, but then Regina and Snow burst into loud and simultaneous laughter. They would forever be evening the score between them, but now they did it playfully.

They were family now, true family.


	25. Chapter 25

**PROMPT: EMMA SWEARS IN RUSSIAN.**

**WARNING: I DO NOT SPEAK RUSSIAN. I got these phrases from the internet, so if they are off, sorry. But it's the best I could do since I know nothing of the language.**

"I can't just swear in school, Ma," Henry whispered across the breakfast table. He didn't want his brunette mother to overhear them as she was finishing up the eggs. "So how am I supposed to cuss those guys out if it'll just get me in trouble."

"Oh that's easy," Emma told her son. "You just swear in a different language."

"You know Mom would die if she heard you telling me this stuff."

"That's why we're whispering, kid," Emma chuckled, "and I'm not trying to be a bad influence. I just want you to be able to let off a little steam if you need to without getting in trouble or you know…getting your ass beat."

"Okay, so I just swear in a different language?" Henry reiterated.

"Yeah totally," Emma said, nodding.

"But I don't know any other languages," Henry told her, to which Emma waved a dismissive hand.

"No big deal," she replied. "I can hook you up. I speak a little bit of everything."

"Seriously?" Henry asked, shocked.

"Well no," Emma admitted. "Just swear words and things concerning food and how to find bathrooms."

Henry giggled at that before nodding for his Ma to continue.

"Okay," Emma whispered, "so, if any of them get in your face, just act like you don't give a shit, like sneer at them or whatever and spit out, 'Yob tvoyiu mat!'"

She then pointed at him and said, "You try."

"Yob…what?"

"Yob tvoyiu mat!"

"Yob tvoyiu mat," Henry repeated quietly, over and over again.

"Yeah!" Emma said. "Good enough."

"Sweet," Henry said excitedly. "Thanks Ma."

"No problem, kid."

* * *

Both Regina and Emma said goodbye to Henry as he took off to walk to school, and as soon as the door closed behind him, Regina whirled on Emma.

"Fuck your mother?!" she exclaimed. "You taught our son to say 'Fuck your mother' in Russian?!"

"Holy…you speak Russian?" Emma asked, completely surprised. "Wait, you heard us?"

"I can't believe you told him that that was acceptable!"

"Well I didn't actually tell him what it means, now did I?" Emma drawled. "Chill out. Nobody is even gonna know what he's saying."

"_I _knew," Regina argued.

"Yeah, and I'm still confused how?" Emma said. "Like…did people speak Russian in the Enchanted Forest?"

"No, of course not," Regina told her. "Like you, I learned a few phrases in several languages."

"…_You _learned 'Fuck your mother' in Russian?" Emma deadpanned. "Uhm…why? You hardly ever swear."

"Sometimes, one simply needs to have a nasty insult on hand," Regina said, shrugging.

They grinned at one another before they both began to laugh, and within seconds, they somehow ended up in each other's arms and pecking little kisses along jawlines and lips and cheeks and chins.

"Mm," Regina hummed hotly. "Do you know any other naughty Russian phrases?"

Emma arched a brow at her before quietly whispering, "Pokazhi pizdu detka."

Regina nearly fainted and Emma laughed as she swooped up the brunette and shot for the stairs.


	26. Chapter 26

**PROMPT: EMMA ATTEMPTS SUICIDE. REGINA FINDS HER.**

**TRIGGER WARNING: Read the prompt, lovelies.**

There was a humming, a buzzing in her ears that refused to fade, mingling with the various sounds of the room around her. It all seemed too loud, the steady ticking of the clock like daunting steps echoing along an abandoned corridor; her own pulse as it raced and slowed against the flesh of her neck like the drumming soundtrack of disaster.

Her senses were painfully alert. The sounds, the sensations—they no longer touched her. They assaulted instead, digging beneath her flesh and tormenting her nerves. Even the air felt stagnant upon her skin, dead and rotten as it crawled into her nostrils and slithered down her throat.

Her existence within that space felt like a cruel twist of fate in that moment as vivid memories she had never once been able to shake flitted through her mind once more. Images of her childhood danced wickedly behind her eyes, turning her tears to gasoline—fueling the fire upon her flesh; that ache that told her to close her eyes and never wake.

Foster fathers that stared too long, that touched too intimately. White-powder madness that was forced into her nose, smoke billowed into her lungs without her permission. Fists that painted her face, rearranged the puzzle of her bones and made new and twisted pictures. Rejection that never once grew quiet as it resounded in her soul, the rejection of children and of adults.

Loneliness embedded so deeply in her flesh that she wore it as a brand.

The way love always teased her, a touch, a lingering glance, a passionate kiss—and then left her lost and bereft of its warmth.

The cold cut of prison cuffs, a baby torn from her life due to circumstance.

Circumstances had never been kind to her.

She curled on her side and reached for the small white bottle, the image of it distorted as she peered through misted eyes.

The pills fell quickly into her hand, some tumbling to the floor beside the bed, but she hardly cared. She poured until the plastic felt light and hollow and she let it fall to the floor as well.

She took them slowly, unafraid. One, two, three, four…ten…fifteen…twenty-three…she didn't stop until they were gone.

And then she did as her heart always quietly requested or even sometimes screamed.

She closed her eyes, expecting never to wake.

* * *

"Emma?" Regina called as she knocked on the blonde's door for the fifth time. She had texted and called the woman multiple times before finally heading over to Emma's apartment. The Sheriff had finally gotten a place to call her own once they had returned from Neverland.

Emma hadn't shown up to collect Henry, and that was rather unlike her. The Sheriff's station had not been graced with her presence, and Granny's had seen nothing of her that day. Even the Charmings admitted they hadn't seen her, though they had been busy that day with ultrasounds for the new baby growing in Snow's womb.

Regardless of how poised Regina seemed on the surface, she had truly begun to worry about the Savior. After all, Emma had become her truest friend and perhaps there was a bit more brewing between them than they had yet to admit aloud or act upon. Needless to say, she cared deeply for the Sheriff.

When Emma failed to answer after the fifth knock, Regina gave up caring about the blonde's privacy. She disappeared in a swirl of purple and reappeared inside the apartment.

"Emma?" she called again, glancing around the living room and kitchen. Everything was still, too still. The air felt stale, the rooms too quiet, and a sickening dread began to pool in Regina's gut.

She was unaware of the way her knees trembled with each step she took through the apartment, though she felt the clenching of her heart and lungs—that terrible aching in her chest as she moved toward Emma's bedroom.

When she pushed open the door to Emma's bedroom, Regina's heart shot into her throat and stuck there like a piece of hard candy. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't swallow. She couldn't stop the choking pain that had suddenly exploded inside her body as her eyes locked onto the empty pill bottle and a few scattered pills on the floor, the pallid flesh of the woman curled in a loose ball atop the mattress, and the pool of vomit that was soaking into her pillow.

"No," Regina finally managed to choke out, the word ripping from her throat so raggedly that they felt like fire. "No," she said again, louder this time, as she forced her feet to move.

The clack of her heels against the floor sounded unbearably loud as she crossed the room to the bed, pills scattering at her feet. She couldn't be gentle as her hands came down to dig into the exposed flesh of Emma's arms, the woman clad in only a white tank top. Regina's nails dug into Emma's skin as she shook her roughly, the blonde's head lolling to the side.

"Emma," Regina grit out, paying no mind to the bits of vomit on the woman's chin as she grabbed Emma's jaw to turn her head. "Emma, wake up. Wake up! You don't get to do this."

No response.

Panic flooded every cell of Regina's body. She couldn't lose Emma. She couldn't lose yet another person she loved, have yet another connection wither and die in her arms. She refused to allow this to happen again.

She pressed her fingers to Emma's neck and nearly cried out as she felt the faintest possible flutter against her fingertips. Even that tiny flutter, though, gave her an incredible amount of hope—like the flutter of a baby's heartbeat on a first ultrasound. It was full of possibilities.

Possibilities of survival.

Regina wrenched open Emma's mouth, pulling her chin down, and she didn't even hesitate before shoving her fingers down the blonde's throat—hard and deep. At first, nothing happened, and that terrified Regina, but then, Emma's body reacted.

The blonde jolted forcefully, the gurgling sound of gagging wrenching up and out into the stale air of the room. Emma heaved and fought against the invasion of her throat, but Regina remained in place until she felt the hot rush of liquid hit her fingertips. She jerked her hand out quickly and let out a sigh of relief as Emma vomited forcefully to the side, her body bowing inward as she coughed and gagged through each wave of bile.

Regina cooed her encouragement as she held Emma's hair back and rubbed her back. She wasn't going to lose her.

This would not be the end.


	27. Chapter 27

**PROMPT: BOSS/SECRETARY. EMMA TRIES TO IMPRESS HER NEW BOSS.**

Emma checked herself quickly in the decorative hall mirror of the twentieth floor corridor on her way to her boss's office. She set the bundle of items in her arms down on a table just under the mirror in order to momentarily free her hands. Emma then ran her fingers through her blonde locks and wiped at a smudge of eyeliner just under her eye. She growled when it only smudged further, and she had to actually apply a bit of saliva to rid her face of the mark.

Once she felt she was presentable, and perhaps even a tad fancier than what was expected of her given her massive crush on her boss, Emma grabbed her things and headed for the last door on the right.

"Come in," came the sharp reply to Emma's soft knock, and the blonde nearly dropped the items in her hands as she turned the knob, but she successfully managed to open the door without spilling anything.

"Oh, Miss Swan," her boss said upon seeing her. Emma's breath hitched in her throat, as it always did, at the sultry and melodic rasp of Regina Mills' voice. It was positively seductive.

"Good morning, Miss Mills," she replied kindly as she quickly crossed the massive room and placed a large coffee on the woman's desk.

"What's this?" Regina asked, eyeing the cup.

"Oh," Emma said, blushing a bit, "I took the liberty of getting you a coffee. Non-fat triple whip skinny vanilla latte with a shot of caramel."

The brunette boss's brows rose into her hairline at that as she glanced up at the younger woman in front of her desk. "A week on the job and you've already memorized my coffee order?"

Emma's cheeks flamed once more. "I pay attention to details," she muttered, and Regina actually offered her a small smile. That was enough to have Emma soaring, because Regina Mills rarely smiled at anyone.

She cleared her throat quickly and lay down a large stack of files. "I also organized and categorized your latest client files before alphabetizing them within each category."

Shockingly, another small smile quirked at Regina's lips as the brunette sat back in her office chair and eyed the woman in front of her. She tapped her pen against her chin as her gaze scanned down the blonde quickly before trailing back up.

"My, my, Miss Swan," Regina said softly, enjoying the flush of the woman's skin, "you are one dedicated secretary."

"Yes ma'am," Emma said, her head ducking a bit, despite the spike to her ego. She made sure to angle her body as casually as possible for optimum viewing of her fine physique as she waited for the first of many tasks that day. Regina's gaze had driven Emma's confidence, and the blonde was already contemplating how best to up her game.


	28. Chapter 28

**PROMPT: EMMA AND REGINA HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR 50 YEARS. FLUFF.**

"Fifty years ago, I never woulda guessed you'd grow into one of those dirty old women," Emma said gruffly, her laughter coming out in a raspy cough as she sat beside her wife and patted the other woman's knee with a veiny, slightly liver-spotted hand.

"Oh hush," Regina chuckled, raising her hand to push her dark gray locks away from her face. "I was just saying that I can't even remember the last time we had sex."

Emma wheezed out another laugh, the wrinkles decorating her aged face stretching with her smile. "That's 'cause we're older than dirt now. Your vagina's probably dry as a powder puff by now."

Regina half-gasped, half-laughed as she smacked her wife with the small scarf she was knitting. "No dryer than yours, you old woman."

"You're older, so it's at least eight years' worth of dryer."

"Well at least my breasts aren't knocking my knees, dear," Regina teased. "I'd break my back bending down to play with one."

Emma laughed loudly at that, the skin around her eyes crinkling. "Evil."

"Not in quite some time."

They smiled softly at one another, both reflecting in that moment on the decades they had spent growing together, falling more in love with each passing day, each joy and hardship they weathered together.

Emma reached over and laced her shakey fingers through Regina's then and smiled softly at her. "You're still beautiful to me, babe."

Regina brought Emma's hand to her lips and pressed a kiss to the dry skin. "You're beautiful to me, too, dear."


	29. Chapter 29

**PROMPT: PROPOSAL/WEDDING NERVES.**

"I can't believe you are even asking my advice," Snow expressed, smiling softly despite the fact that she was still completely flabbergasted at having opened her loft door to find Regina, wide-eyed and fidgeting, asking for advice on how best to propose to the Savior.

Instantly shaken from her own internal panic, Regina rolled her eyes before pushing past the pixie-haired woman and into the loft. She unwrapped her scarf and removed her coat, hanging each on the rack by the door, before crossing to the kitchen and settling onto a stool at the island.

"If it suits your nostalgic desires," she said, "I will admit I may have audibly gagged at the mere thought of asking your advice."

"Ah, well that makes this much more believable then," Snow replied, chuckling. She settled onto the stool next to Regina and turned to face her former nemesis. "So," she said, unable to contain the growing excitement in her voice, "you are actually going to propose?"

"Is there any other logical explanation for the words, 'How should I propose to Emma?'"

Snow giggled as she reached over and patted Regina's shoulder. "I suppose you're right," she agreed, "but you can stop being so snippy. It's okay to be nervous."

"I'm not being _snippy,_" Regina argued, despite the fact that she was well aware she was. "This is my voice. This is how I speak."

"Okay, whatever you say future daughter-in-law."

Regina choked on her own saliva upon hearing such words. "Oh gods, I find I am strangely both nauseated and excited by those words."

"I'm just excited!" Snow squealed. "I can't believe my baby is getting married, and to you of all people. This is…well, an interesting twist of fate."

"Indeed it is," Regina agreed, "though I am afraid nothing will ever come to pass if you don't stop squealing and actually begin helping me."

"Okay, well, it has to be simple," Snow told her. "I know that sounds crazy coming from me."

"It does," Regina said, nodding. "I rather imagined you would suggest some grand and elaborate declaration of love and show of romance."

"Well, I would normally," Snow agreed, "but this is Emma we're talking about."

"Yes."

"So…"

"So what, Snow?" Regina asked, turning to arch a brow at the petite woman.

"So just ask her, Regina," Snow answered. "I know that seems terribly simple for a proposal, but don't you think Emma would appreciate you not making a big show of it?"

"Perhaps you're right."

* * *

Later that evening, Regina and Emma are lying in bed. The room is dark but for the bit of moonlight streaming through the balcony doors. Regina takes a deep breath as she turns on her side to face the shadowy form of her girlfriend.

Her heart pounds in her chest as she reaches across the short expanse of sheets and squeezes the blonde's arm. "Emma?" she whispers through the dark. "Are you awake?"

"I wasn't," Emma chuckles, her voice raspy. "But I am now." She had always been a light sleeper.

Emma rolls over to face Regina as well, her hand finding the brunette's under the covers. "You okay, babe?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Regina tells her softly, squeezing Emma's hand, "but I would very much like to know if you would consider marrying me."

Emma physically jolts at the question. The tremble in Regina's voice had been enough to inform her that the brunette was serious, but still she asks, "Are you serious? Like are you proposing?"

"I am…" Regina whispers, before sucking in a breath and holding it.

Emma lets out a long sigh containing a breathy and soft exclamation of "Wow…"

A long silence dances between them and Regina's heart feels as if it might explode at any moment as she waits for an answer.

And finally, in the darkness of their bedroom, with soft kisses and even softer words, Emma inches across the space between them, presses her lips to Regina's cheek and says, "Yeah…I will."


	30. Chapter 30

**PROMPT: REGINA SPIES ON EMMA WITH HER MIRROR AND CATCHES HER IN A PRIVATE MOMENT.**

"Genie!" Regina called as she sat before the large fireplace in her old bedchamber of her palace. All that stood around her was of another lifetime, a life she had never wanted to return to. This was not who she was anymore. Even the air tasted wrong, different. It wasn't her home anymore, and she could hardly bear to exist within it.

"You called, _my Queen_," came Sidney's sarcastic drawl. "You could just call me Sidney, you know?"

"You prefer your fake name?" Regina questioned, arching a brow, before simply nodding. "Fine."

"Was there something you wanted?" Sidney asked. He had hardly any patience for Regina and was more than a little pissed to have woken up trapped within a mirror once more.

"Yes, show me Em…" she sighed, the breath whistling across her lips as they trembled just so. "Show me the Savior."

It wasn't the first time she had used her magic mirror to peek into the lives of the family she was forced to give up. She had checked in on Henry many times since their arrival at her palace. She had watched him grow for months, but she had always managed to ignore her urge to ask to see Emma specifically. She had seen glimpses of the blonde in the times when she and Henry were together, but only glimpses. That crooked smile. Those emerald eyes.

Regina could quietly admit that she missed the Savior in ways no one would likely understand, thus she had always kept it to herself. Today, though…today had been a hard day, and she just…she wanted…

She didn't even know what she wanted. All she knew was that she couldn't shake the thoughts of Emma that had been plaguing her mind, and thus, she finally gave in.

"Show me the Savior," she repeated a bit more firmly, and she held her breath as the smooth pane of the glass began to ripple.

When it settled again, Regina's eyebrows instantly shot into her hairline.

Emma was slamming the bathroom door shut, her face twisted as if in pain, and she was frantically mumbling to herself.

"Fuck, I gotta pee!" she hissed as she fought to get her pants unbuckled. "Damn traffic."

The blonde then went out of frame, but Regina could still see a bit of her blonde hair and could hear her, as well as a loud trickling sound.

"Aaaaaahhhhh," Emma sighed.

Regina quickly snapped her fingers and turned away from the mirror. "DAMMIT SIDNEY!"

The genie just cackled.


	31. Chapter 31

**PROMPT: DORITOS.**

Emma's brows furrowed as the faint crunching sound reached her ears again. Where was it coming from? More importantly, what the hell _was _it?

She walked softly through the mansion, following the sound that she slightly recognized but couldn't quite put her finger on. When she drew nearer Regina's office, the sound grew louder, and Emma knew that it had to be coming from within the massive study.

She toggled the doorknob gently only to find that it was locked, which made Emma suspicious. What was going on in there? Was it Regina? What the hell was her girlfriend doing?

Emma moved her hand down by the doorknob and gently flicked her wrist, using the magic she was slowing mastering to unlock the door to Regina's study. She counted to three in her head, and then thrust open the door.

A loud gasp echoed from Emma's lips as she pointed at her girlfriend and laughingly shouted "LIAR! I KNEW YOU LOVED THEM!"

Regina's face flooded with guilt as her widened eyes darted back and forth between her amused girlfriend and her own hand, sticky and seasoned and poised over an open bag of Cool-Ranch Doritos.


	32. Chapter 32

**PROMPT: SOMETHING TO DO WITH HORSES.**

"Regina, I friggin' suck at this, and my crotch hurts."

"You will get used to it, love," Regina laughed out as she and Emma bounced gently atop trotting horses through the woods of Storybrooke.

Regina had been teaching Emma to ride for a little over two weeks, and the blonde seemed to be fighting the process every step of the way. She always had something to complain about, and rarely let herself enjoy the experience. Regina was determined to make the Savior a rider yet, though.

"That's what you always say," Emma groaned as she gripped the reins so tightly that her knuckles drained of all color, "but it's been two weeks and I'm still not any better."

"That's not true at all, dear," Regina argued. "You haven't fallen off the steed in three full days, and I've only had to heal your pelvis once in the last week."

Emma rolled her eyes as she snorted at the brunette's words. "Oh, well in that case, somebody pass me the 'Most Improved' trophy. Maybe next week, I won't wake up with bruises on my vagina."

Regina chuckled low in her throat at that as she mockingly said, "That's the spirit."


	33. Chapter 33

**PROMPT: REGINA TELLS ROBIN OFF AFTER HE SPITS ON HER.**

_(This is total crack.)_

"Did he just…?" Regina snapped, turning wide eyes toward Snow and pointing toward the thief still hovering over them.

"Did he just what?" Snow asked, lowering her voice in an attempt to be polite and offering placating smiles in Robin's direction.

Regina, though, didn't care to keep her voice low. She could not believe that this man, a thief, a gods-damned PEASANT, had not only addressed her as anything OTHER than her title, but also spat on her. The audacity!

Regina's hand snapped around, her index finger rigid as she pointed toward the small wet spot on her face. Her eyes were alight with her fury as she growled out, "He spat on me!"

Before Snow could say anything, Regina was on her feet and practically snarling at this Robin fellow. Snow grabbed Regina's arm and tugged, trying to pull her back.

"Regina, please," Snow pleaded, "I'm sure he didn't mean to. Right, Robin?"

"Of course not," Robin said, though the mocking smile on his face said otherwise, and it only served to further infuriate Regina. "Forgive me, milady. It was an accident."

"It's YOUR MAJESTY!" Regina exclaimed haughtily. "And how the hell do you _accidentally _spit on royalty?"

"It's perfectly understandable, Regina," Snow said softly, still tugging at Regina's elbow. "I believe the kids in Storybrooke referred to it as 'gleeking'."

"He wasn't singing a damn song, Snow," Regina growled out. "He was SPITTING on me! ON ME! MEEEE, the gods-damned queen of this land, or have all of you forgotten that?"

"Um, well, actually Regina," Snow cut in softly again, "I wasn't referencing that television show, though I am shocked to know you know of it. I was actually talking about the spitting. Also, you technically aren't the queen anymore. That would be me."

Regina completely ignored her, the words going in one ear and out the other.

Robin chuckled softly at that, and Regina whirled on him. "Oh, and what are you laughing at, peasant?"

"Perhaps you should just calm do—" Robin began, but Regina threw up her hand to silence him.

"No one gave you permission to speak, peasant," she snapped. "In fact, you are henceforth no longer allowed to speak, considering you cannot even do so without spitting your vile saliva on anyone within arm's reach."

"Regina, you can't just tell him that he can't sp—"

"Hush Snow," Regina hissed, throwing up her other hand toward the woman behind her. "It has been royally decreed. No more talking for the peasant. As a matter of fact—" She waved her hand through the air and Robin's mouth along with the mouths of all his merry men clamped shut. "—No more talking for any of you, not the thief nor any of his moronic men."

"Mmrmy," Robin mumbled unintelligibly.

"Sorry dear," Regina said with a cocky smirk. "You are attempting and failing to address a Royal. I don't speak moron, nor peasant, nor blatant idiot."

Regina then chuckled happily and turned on her heel. As she marched away from the group, she motioned for Snow to follow. "Come along, dear."

Snow hurried after her. "Regina, don't you think that was a little harsh?"

Regina rolled her eyes. Emma would have thought it was funny. She then waved her hand through the air. Snow's mouth instantly clamped shut just as the others' had. "Perhaps you should take a time out from the talking as well, Snow."


	34. Chapter 34

**PROMPT: PREGNANT REGINA.**

Snow smiled brightly as she opened the door to reveal her daughter and daughter-in-law. "Dinner's almost ready, girls," she said. "Come on in."

"Hey Mom," Emma said as she leaned in and let her mother kiss her cheek, hugging her with one arm.

"Hello dear," Regina said as well, as she then received one of Snow's kisses to her own cheek.

"How are you?" Snow asked Regina, following the brunette into the kitchen after closing the door. She smiled as Emma pulled out a chair at the table for Regina and helped the heavily pregnant woman settle into it, both of their hands somehow finding their way to the large bump beneath Regina's dress.

"I'm fine, Snow," Regina replied with a happy sigh. "Simply ready to have this child out of me. I feel like a walking whale most days."

"A penguin," Emma chimed in, laughing.

Snow chuckled as Regina rolled her eyes. "A penguin?" the pixie-haired woman asked.

"Yes, yes," Regina said, waving a dismissive hand, "your entirely _un_funny daughter seems to find it comical to liken me to a penguin since I rather tend to waddle these days as opposed to walking."

"It's true," Emma said, shrugging as she grinned and leaned over to kiss her wife's cheek. "Don't be so sensitive. We've all been pregnant now, and we all waddled."

Snow nodded her agreement, so Regina finally chuckled along with them.

"How's the pregnancy going otherwise?" Snow asked. "I had terrible back pain with Emma at this stage in my pregnancy."

"Yes," Regina told her, "I have a bit of back pain, and frequent heartburn."

"And god, the gas," Emma added, to which Snow giggled, but Regina's eyes blew wide as saucers.

She instantly reached over and smacked the hell out of her wife's arm. "I do _not _have gas."

"You totally do," Emma laughed out.

Regina's entire face was flushed a deep crimson as she pursed her lips and shook her head. "Queens do not get gas."

"Everyone gets gas," Emma argued, still cracking up, "especially pregnant people."

"Not queens," Regina argued, shaking her head and trying to swallow her complete mortification.

Snow, attempting to make her feel better, said, "Well, I had pretty terrible gas when I was pregnant."

Regina closed her eyes tightly and let out a long breath. "And you have always been more of a princess than a queen, dear."

"So not even _pregnant _queens get gas?" Emma asked, poking teasingly at her wife.

"No."

"Oh okay," Emma chuckled, "so what was that stench last night then when we were watching the movie?"

"I don't know," Regina told her, her blush deepening. "It must have been Henry."

"He was in his room," Emma deadpanned. "Musta been some pretty strong gas to have traveled all the way down from the second floor."

"True," Regina told her, popping up from her chair. "Perhaps we should take him to the doctor." She then scurried out of the room and toward the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it.

Emma and Snow dissolved into laughter as soon as the door closed.


	35. Chapter 35

**PROMPT: REGINA AND EMMA PICK OUT THEIR WEDDING RINGS TOGETHER.**

_(crack)_

"No yellow gold," Emma said as they walked through the glass door of the jewelry shop, a small jingle ringing overhead.

"I'm aware, dear," Regina replied, nodding slightly as she marched across the shop as if she had already made a decision even though she hadn't a clue what she wanted, and neither did her fiancée.

Emma trailed behind her, glancing around at the numerous glass cases showcasing various rings, necklaces, bracelets, and watches. "And no weird designs," she said as she followed after her soon-to-be wife. "You know I'm not wearing a ring with like flowers engraved on it or some crap. Nothing cutesy."

"Darling," Regina sighed, "we are shopping for wedding bands. There will likely be nothing terribly elaborate about them. That is what the engagement ring is for, and you have emphasized numerous times that you do not wish to have a ring with a stone, just a simple band. I already have my engagement ring, thus this should be a rather simple process."

"Yeah, and your engagement ring is awesome," Emma mumbled. "_Expensive_ and awesome."

Regina chuckled as she turned to press a kiss to her fiancée's cheek. "Yes, dear. My ring, while expensive, is positively radiant. Thank you."

Emma smiled brightly at her. "You're welcome. Thanks for saying yes."

"Thank you for asking."

"Well thanks for—"

"You two are just too precious!" a voice suddenly cut in, and both turned to see a man who seemed to have suddenly materialized behind the counter. He wore an emerald green suit and tie, which matched his eyes, and he was grinning almost unnaturally at the couple.

"Shopping for your wedding bands?" he asked, his smile never wavering.

"Yup," Emma told him, detaching from Regina due to the sudden discomfort she felt at the way the man kept staring at them. _Geez, _she thought. _Overkill dude. You'll get your commission. Chill out._

"Oh, well that is fantastic," he chimed happily before skipping over to a particular glass display case that housed several brightly colored bands, none of which Emma particularly cared for. "I have the perfect choice."

"Oh?" Regina asked, intrigued. She followed the man over, along with Emma.

He reached into the case and pulled out a small ring, and as soon as it glimmered in the overhead lights, Regina barked out a loud laugh while Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Rainbow bands?" Emma drawled. "Really man?"

"Your mother would enjoy them," Regina laughed out.

"Yeah," Emma snorted. "She'd squeal so hard, she'd probably have a heart attack and die."

Regina grinned widely as she jokingly snapped, "We'll take them!"


	36. Chapter 36

**PROMPT: Princess Emma and Young Regina meet at a ball in FTL. They are instantly smitten, sneak off together, and end up ruining both their gowns during sexy times.**

Emma had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from hissing her pain. One eye-roll at a snobby prince, and her mother's nimble fingers were pinching into the back of her arm, a firm reminder that she was not acting according to her status. She was not only a lady, but a _princess _for gods' sake.

Surely, she would be moved to swoon at every potential suitor.

Emma abhorred it. Every curtsy, every bow, every disgustingly wet kiss to her hand that left a damp ring atop her glove—she hated it all. Royal balls were the worst, especially when their sole purpose was for her parents to parade a line of fine young men, as Emma's mother coined them, before her in the hopes that she could find a suitable match.

Emma could hardly manage to match her undergarments, let alone her life to another's. Honestly, she thought, what were her parents thinking? It was like they had never even met her.

Emma sat back in her small throne and counted down the minutes. She endured endless compliments that sounded either well-rehearsed or poorly rehearsed but never genuine.

No eighteen-year-old boy, royal or not, would say, "Your Royal Highness, I can hardly speak for your beauty has stolen my breath."

No thank you, Emma thought. She had to force herself not to roll her eyes or pop off a remark along the lines of "The air is abundant the further you are from the throne."

The sorry compliments, though, were only the tip of the iceberg, for they paled in comparison to what came after. Yes, Emma had _most_ loathed the many dances she had been made to participate in.

Prince Arlan stepped on her foot four times and failed to even notice. Emma was quite sure her foot was mangled by the end of the dance, yet she was simply shuffled to the next potential suitor—Orlund. He was a Duke, one of the few young men in attendance who was not a prince or lord. Duke Orlund had talked entirely too much—rambling on about kingdom policy, a conversation that made Emma's ears bleed and her brain completely shut down.

Then there was Prince Edgar. Emma had only danced eight bars with the young man before excusing herself. The third time his hand had slipped below her waistline and grabbed a healthy handful of a restricted section had been three times too many.

Prince Geoffrey was actually an incredible dancer and was terribly kind, but he most certainly was not a match for Emma, despite how much Snow insisted that he was. The moment he had begun talking about the colors of the drapes, the fabric of her gown, and how much he loathed his own attire…"I would gladly trade this cummerbund for a corset"…well, Emma got the impression that Geoffrey was more the kind of man who would prefer to _be _a princess over marrying one.

As soon as her dance with Geoffrey ended, Emma heard the soft sound of a throat clearing from behind her. She rolled her eyes, sure that she was being approached for yet another dance by yet another annoying prince, but when she turned around, Emma was thoroughly surprised.

She was greeted by the sight of a beautiful young woman, likely her own age, with long and flowing chocolate locks, bright caramel-colored eyes, and smirking lips that drew Emma's gaze easily. The brunette was clad in a stunning gown—a rich purple that accented her olive skin beautifully.

"Your Highness," the brunette greeted, dipping her head along with her body as she curtsied.

Emma returned the curtsy, though she nearly tripped over her own feet due to being mesmerized by the young woman in front of her. "Hello," she said softly, unsure of how to address the other girl.

The brunette kept her smirk, mirth dancing in her eyes, as she lowered her voice and whispered, "I doubt Prince Geoffrey is a suitable match, Your Highness, though he would undoubtedly be helpful in designing your gowns."

Emma gaped for only a moment, unsure if she had actually heard the other girl correctly, but then she merely burst into soft giggles. She straightened her posture as she noticed that they had garnered a bit of attention from other guests, and schooled her features. She kept her voice low as she replied, "I quite agree."

They stared at one another for a long moment, both captivated and neither moving, before Emma whispered, "May I ask your name?"

The brunette smiled brightly, her melodic voice escaping between supple lips. "Regina!" she exclaimed.

"Regina," Emma repeated softly. "I am Emma."

Regina laughed at that. "Yes, of course, I know," she said. "You are the crown princess. You are the reason we are all here after all."

Emma's cheeks tinted a soft pink as she nodded, her golden curls bouncing atop her head where they had been pulled up in an elaborate twist and speckled with emerald glitter to match her sweeping emerald gown. "Are _you _a royal?"

"I am a lady."

"Yes, but are you a royal?" Emma asked, laughing at her own little joke, and Regina laughed with her. "Apologies, Lady Regina. It has been a terribly dull evening, I am afraid."

Just as Regina was about to respond, Emma glanced up to see her mother waving her over. Emma sighed and rolled her eyes. "Apologies again, Lady Regina, but my mother beckons."

"Of course," Regina said quickly, dipping into another easy curtsy.

Emma returned the gesture with a soft smile. "Perhaps I will see you again before your departure?"

"Perhaps you will," Regina whispered, planted in place as she then watched the captivating princess glide away.

* * *

Emma finished her dance with Prince Jasper, a horrid excuse for a young man—the kind who believed women to be nothing more than trophies and child bearers. She noticed Prince Tobin making his way over for the next dance, and she groaned. She could not stomach yet another dance.

She began to back away from her spot on the floor, inching quickly toward the outer wall of the massive ballroom, passing balconies and doors. And then suddenly, Emma felt a hand curl around her arm, just at the elbow, and she was being jerked through a slightly cracked door that led into the main floor corridor.

Emma yelped softly as she was yanked through the opening but when she whirled around quickly to see whom had dared grab her, her heart leapt into her throat.

It was _her._ Those caramel-colored eyes glinted in the soft bits of moonlight peering through the corridor vents.

"Hello again," Emma whispered breathlessly, realizing that she was unnaturally close to the brunette. They were but a few breaths from one another, gazes locked.

Regina smiled softly at her. "You are welcome," she laughed out before reaching to pull the door fully closed so that the buzz of the ball faded almost entirely.

"Pardon?"

Regina giggled again. "You are welcome for rescuing you from yet another dance."

"Oh," Emma whispered. "Oh!" Her eyes widened and then a bright smile burst across her face. "Thank you."

They fell into that same vibrating silence from before in which they merely stared at one another, practically sharing one another's breaths. Finally, Emma shook her head and began to speak, "Lady Re—"

"Please," Regina whispered, "may we forgo titles? My name is Regina. Please, call me Regina."

Emma's heart fluttered in her chest. "Yes," she answered breathily. "Regina."

Regina smiled at her then. "May I address you as Emma?"

Emma simply nodded, unconsciously moving a bit closer to the brunette. When she saw Regina's gaze track down to her lips and then back up, Emma was completely riveted. She took a quick step back, her heart now pounding madly against her ribcage. "Would you like a tour?"

Regina's chest heaved with her shallow breaths. She could hardly understand let alone explain what was happening. This girl…she was so magnetic. Regina had never felt so drawn to another person, so enamored by another's smile. Princess Emma was beautiful, and she was the first royal of her age that Regina had met. She had never had a friend her own age, and she was already entirely smitten with Emma, though perhaps it was more than merely that.

"Would the king and queen not worry were you to be gone too long?" Regina asked before agreeing.

"I doubt they will notice," Emma told her, laughing. "The ballroom is rather crowded and I have been in endless dances for the last hour, at least."

"Fair point," Regina admitted, nodding. She then held her hand out, palm up. "Shall we then?"

Emma pulled her glove from her hand, wanting to feel Regina's touch, and then slipped her fingers through the brunette's. They each squeezed unconsciously, and then they were off, Emma pulling Regina down the grand corridor and toward the first of many stops.

They laughed until their stomachs hurt, pushing out against their corsets, as they ran through room by room, ducking away from the sight of servants and guards, nearly knocking over suits of armor. Their comfort with each other only grew with each almost accident, each loud burst of laughter.

"And this is my chamber," Emma said, a little timidly, as they came upon the private sector of the palace, hovering just outside the doors to Emma's bedchamber. She and Regina had yet to release their holds on one another.

Regina nodded softly. "Shall we go in?"

"Would you like to?" Emma asked, barely masking the hope in her voice. She had not a clue as to why, but she desperately wanted Regina in her bedchamber.

A throaty "yes" was all Regina could manage.

"It is lovely," Regina commented as she glanced around Emma's massive bedchamber, and when she turned to look at the blonde, her entire body jolted to realize that Emma was but a breath away. "Oh! You startled me."

They stood so close to one another that their chests were nearly brushing. Emma could not tear her gaze away as she quietly whispered, "You are so magnetic."

The softest of smiles touched at the corner of Regina's lips before she stretched a slightly hesitant hand forward and touched Emma's cheek. "As are you, Emma."

They smiled against each other's lips as they met in a gentle caress, their mouths pressing tenderly together and then growing in pressure. They broke apart the moment their lips parted and tongues timidly dipped forward. They laughed softly as they looked into one another's eyes, both a bit shy in this moment, but neither wanting to stop exploring the other.

They dove into one another again, tongues slipping together messily, hands weaving into pinned hair and pulling it loose. Regina pressed her body firmly into Emma's, needing to be closer, needing to feel the other girl's heat. As she did so, Emma stumbled backward, both of them laughing as it caused them to topple and tumble to the floor of Emma's chamber.

Their fall was accompanied by a loud ripping sound, and Emma gasped as she looked down to see that Regina's heel had snagged on her emerald gown and an entire layer of her skirt had torn.

Regina's expression crumpled. "Emma, I—"

But then Emma just erupted into laughter all over again, and she reached for Regina's cheeks, pulling the other girl's face back to her own. Their lips locked together again, hands exploring bodies and breath growing tight in chests.

Within minutes, their exploration grew desperate, a tingling, tugging sensation assaulting them both, pulling low in their abdomens, vibrating between their legs.

And suddenly, fingers were yanking at corset ties, and hands were pushing up and under heavy skirts.

Regina's breasts spilled from her corset as Emma finally loosened it enough to free them, and both girls moaned at the feeling of that electric press of flesh, Regina's hardened nipples grazing across Emma's own chest.

"Oh wow," Emma groaned, and Regina nodded against her forehead, their mouths crashing together again, messily, painfully, perfectly.

Their touches grew hot, itching for more, and Regina finally could no longer take it. She pushed off of the blonde beneath her, her thighs straddling Emma's waist. She huffed out a breath, blowing away loosened, messy strands of chocolate hair, and said, "I need more. I need to…touch you. May I?"

"Gods yes," Emma moaned, reaching up to pull Regina down to her again. It was only a matter of minutes, though, before Regina was pushing off of her again.

"Damn these vile gowns," the brunette snapped, and Emma laughed out loud as Regina then reached forward, latched onto the material of Emma's skirt and shredded it further. She ripped it right up the blonde's thigh, exposing fair, toned legs and frilly undergarments.

Emma's entire body jolted the second the smooth flesh of Regina's fingers slid up her thighs, and then she was writhing. Her own hands shot forward, pulling and tearing at Regina's gown, pushing it down and away. In that moment, they wanted nothing more than to feel one another fully, flesh to flesh.

Being a princess or a lady, so it seemed, made that a difficult task to manage, but neither backed down from the challenge. They tore through the material like savage beasts, eager to ravage one another, and they laughed through the entire process—breathlessly and against lips and against salty flesh and against drumming heartbeats.

When their nipples brushed together, hardened peaks licking together, both Regina and Emma moaned loudly, rocking in a pile of tattered material.

"Oh gods, touch me," Regina whispered, her now naked thighs straddling Emma's lower abdomen. She was unfamiliar with the incredible sensation, but she knew she only wanted more of it, rocking her dripping sex against the blonde's stomach. She was desperate for friction, for a pressure that she instinctively knew could take her higher.

"Where?" Emma asked, though she was fairly certain she knew. Her fingers had been itching to slip southward since they began this incredible, crazy, perfect adventure.

"Everywhere," Regina whispered. She then grabbed Emma's hand and pushed it down between her legs. "Here."

That first touch of moisture pulled a heavy moan from both girls' throats, and when Emma slipped inside the tight, searing-hot opening, she was certain she had found some form of transcendence.

Regina rolled off of Emma, tugging the blonde with her as they rolled and fell further into the puffy sea of ripped and shredded ballgowns. Emma's fingers pumped faster as the position allowed her to move more freely, and she followed her own body's needs as well.

Emma straddled Regina's thigh then, lowering her dripping sex onto the smooth flesh. She slid it up and down, pressing and moaning with every stroke of her body against Regina's, her fingers still dipping in and out.

They kissed wherever they could, fingertips, noses, chins, necks, chests, hair, ears—if lips could touch, they touched. Both were breathless as they rode one another, pumping harder and faster as they approached a kind of bliss that neither could fathom.

"Oh Emma," Regina panted, "I—"

"Me too," Emma breathed.

The room was a white noise amalgamation of slapping skin, of squelching arousal, of panting breaths—all mixing together into one sweet symphony that remained as they rocketed over the edge together, both crying out against the other's flesh. Regina's lips pressed to Emma's shoulder as Emma's teeth nipped at Regina's collarbone.

They stilled together, freezing at the height of climax, and then crashing in unison, both rocking gently together as they rode out their ecstasy.

When they collapsed together, skin sticky with sweat and breaths a rapid rhythm in their chests, they clutched tightly to one another.

Emma rolled to the side, landing on the soft material that littered her floor. She picked up a long tattered scrap of emerald and dangled it above Regina's face.

"Regina," she said, trying to hold her amusement, "I do believe I have outgrown my gown."

They both erupted into laughter.


	37. Chapter 37

**PROMPT: Emma goes to see Regina right after she talks to her parents. post 3x12.**

"So you don't remember anything?" Emma asked, her eyes still stuck on the massive protrusion at her mother's midsection. "Nothing at all from the last year?"

"Nothing," Mary Margaret confirmed. "One moment, we were watching you drive over the town line with Henry, and then everything went black, and the next moment, we were waking up in Storybrooke again."

David nodded beside his wife. "We don't even know if we ever actually left," he added.

Emma let out a heavy, staggered breath as she ran a hand through her hair. This all just felt like too much in the moment. Her head was a mess of conflict—stirrings of feelings about her parents' baby-to-be that she didn't want to contemplate, anxiety on how to help Henry remember or how to explain, battling to separate her real memories from her fabricated ones.

A soft gasp escaped her then as realization struck hard and deep, and her head snapped up, eyes going wide for only a moment before softening.

"Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, her face scrunched with worry. She waddled forward and placed a hand on her daughter's arm. "What is it?"

Emma's eyes turned watery in that moment against her will, a whirlwind of emotion ripping through her body and urging her to go. "I've got to go," she whispered.

"But you just got here," David protested, moving to Emma's other side and staring at her almost pleadingly. "We want to know about your life for the last year. We…there's so much to talk about."

"I know," Emma told him, nodding, "and we will, but right now, I have to go."

"Where?" Mary Margaret asked. "Is it Henry?"

Emma made a split-second decision not to tell her parents where it was she really needed to go, because well…she just didn't feel like explaining. It was never as easy as a quick answer with Mary Margaret. She always had to know the whys of things and then throw her two cents in, which at times Emma was grateful for, and at others, not so much.

"Uh, yeah," she told her. "I checked us into a room at Granny's, and he was sleeping when I left to come here, but he might've woken up by now. He doesn't remember anything yet, so I don't want him to be freaked."

"Oh, okay," Mary Margaret said, smiling softly. "Of course, but perhaps we could see him tomorrow or sometime soon? We could have breakfast tomorrow."

"Sure, yeah," Emma agreed, nodding. She then hesitated, unsure of whether she should hug her parents again, but then just settled on an awkward little wave before darting from the place.

* * *

Emma drove as slowly as she possibly could the few blocks to Regina's house, which meant that she was basically idling all the way there, the Bug put-putting along. But she needed that extra time to prepare herself for the meeting she was about to have.

A thousand memories cycled through her mind as she crept through the Storybrooke streets, memories that she now remembered were not her own. Her eyes stung fiercely again, but she kept the unwanted moisture at bay, swallowing thickly and sucking in a steadying breath.

There had been no way to know until now just how massive it was—the gift Regina had given her. It had simply been a part of her once she had crossed that town line a year ago, something that she had never once questioned. It was merely the truth.

But now. Now that she knew so much of it wasn't true, the reality of it all struck her so forcefully that it made it difficult to breathe. All those precious moments with Henry, watching him grow, holding him, laughing with him, teaching him to walk and talk and read…oh god, none of it was hers.

It was Regina's. Yet, for an entire year and what was supposed to have been for the rest of her life, Emma had kept it all as her own. She had gotten to be the mother she never knew she could be. She had gotten to carry the images in her mind of her…_their _baby boy—every hiccup, every tear, every giggle, every accident, every perfect, messy, beautiful picture.

That wasn't just a gift. It was an entire life, a life that Emma could never have known without Regina. How could she ever repay that? How could she ever…

Emma pulled up outside the looming mayoral mansion, and the mere sight made her stomach flip, a sensation that Emma couldn't quite put her finger on. She couldn't tell if it was anxiety or excitement; perhaps a mixture of the two.

She couldn't even comprehend the things she was feeling in that moment, and she didn't try to. She just felt it, all of it, and she hoped that this would go well.

Her feet felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each as she trudged up the walkway to the front door of 108 Mifflin Street, each step reminding her of the weight of this particular meeting. She tried to think of what she should say, but no words came to her. She could think of nothing but that continual swirling sensation in her stomach.

When she pressed the small button for the door bell and then heard the echoing jingle sound from inside the house, that swirling sensation grew into a rolling roar that made her entire body feel like it might just splinter apart. God, she was nervous. She didn't even know why, but she was.

This…seeing Regina again, it felt monumental somehow. It felt like a moment that could make or break a million different things, and Emma didn't know what a single one of those things were, but she did know that she didn't want to break anything. In fact, for the first time since Henry had shown up at her apartment and dragged her back to Storybrooke, Maine, Emma was actually…well, _excited_ to see his other mother. So, no, she didn't want to break anything.

She wanted to make…or fix…or something. She just wanted it to go well.

When she heard the faint clicking of heels echo from behind the door, growing louder as the steps grew nearer, Emma swore she might explode. The anticipation was killing her.

And then that white door swung open.

It started as a gasp but ended in a strangled, muffled sound that died in Regina's throat. Dark chocolate eyes blew wide, countless emotions flickering through the soft color in the beat of a few seconds as she took in the sight of the woman before her, the woman she was supposed to have never seen again.

Her breath caught roughly, tightly in her throat, and her chest began to ache as she merely abandoned the requirement of breathing and gaped at Emma Swan.

Her gaze roved over soft blonde hair, gentle yet moist hazel eyes, slightly trembling lips, a dimpled chin, and a fashion sense unlike any she had ever known this woman to have.

"Emma," she whispered, the name slipping across her lips in a strangled breath.

And in a moment so reminiscent of their first ever meeting, Emma offered her a soft, lopsided smile, a gentle shrug, and a weak little, "Hi."

The memory of that first meeting had Regina's gaze darting back up and around, behind Emma, but there was nothing, no one. Disappointment flooded her chest until Emma took a step closer and quietly said, "He's at Granny's, sleeping. The drive wore him out, but I needed…I had to see you."

Regina's dark eyes locked onto hazel then. Her brows furrowed as she sucked in a hard breath through her nose, the scent of the other woman filtering in and causing her eyes to flutter closed. It was strange how the familiarity of that scent seemed so comforting in that moment.

"You remember?" Regina asked quietly.

Emma took another step forward until, as was their way, they were practically nose to nose, sharing the same breath. "Everything," she whispered, her heart pounding so forcefully in her chest that she was certain Regina had to be able to hear it. "But Henry doesn't, not yet."

She wasn't sure why, but she felt the need to be closer. She felt so much for Regina Mills in that moment that it was like her body just kept pushing her forward. She was overcome with so much gratitude that she could hardly think, let alone speak, but she forced herself to do it anyway.

She didn't even wait for Regina to invite her in. She just spilled it right there on the woman's front porch. The more she spoke, the harder it became. Her voice cracked and her lips trembled, and her chest grew tighter and tighter and tighter.

"I cried for three hours the first time he got sick," Emma whispered into the air, the words creating the breath that Regina then inhaled. "It was just a stomach bug, but the fever, the vomiting. I didn't know what to do. I was scared."

Regina's brows furrowed at first, not comprehending exactly what it was Emma was telling her, or trying to tell her, but when the blonde spoke again, she began to understand, and it completely broke her. Tears danced on her eyelids, trembling at the edges and desperate to fall as Emma whispered, "He wobbled like a penguin when he took his first step, but his smile was so big and so bright like he'd just run an entire marathon. He fell before he could even take the second, but he didn't give up. He just kept getting back up and going."

"He hated carrots, but he loved peas, which was so weird," Emma told her, "because most kids hate peas. He couldn't get enough, though, until he threw up exorcist-style on me, green gunk all in my hair, and then I banned peas for like a month."

Both she and Regina let out a watery laugh, moving even closer so that they could feel the heat of one another's bodies.

"His first word was 'book'," Emma choked out. "It sounded more like 'gook' but I knew what he was trying to say. I thought it would be Mommy, because I tried to get him to say it for weeks, but it wasn't. It was 'book' because I always read him stories, always. Every morning when he woke and every night before he went to bed."

Regina nodded softly as tears slipped silently and slowly down her cheeks, tears that were echoed on Emma's own face. "He used to always beg me to play hide and seek with him, but he lost his thrill for the game when he hid in a cabinet once and got bitten by a spider. It scared the hell out of me."

"His laughter taught me how to feel good again," Emma whispered so quietly that the words were hardly more than wet breath but she was close enough that Regina couldn't have missed them even if she had wanted to, and a soft sob tore from her throat upon hearing them.

Emma's hand somehow found its way to Regina's without thought or command, She held it gently between their bodies as she quietly said, "He taught me how to love again."

Regina's eyes fluttered closed again as she nodded through her tears, and Emma whispered, "None of this is mine. None of these memories."

When Regina's dark eyes peered out at her again, so full, so deep, so…everything, Emma did her best to smile at her despite the fact that her cheeks were soaked and her lips were trembling and her heart had yet to stop pounding heavily away. "It's all yours. All of it."

"I…" Regina tried to say, but Emma just shook her head, reaching up absentmindedly to swipe away a track of tears from Regina's cheek.

"Thank you," she whispered so softly, so fully, that it sounded like a prayer, the words singing straight up from her soul. Emma didn't think she had ever meant anything as deeply as she meant those two words, saying them right then to the one woman who had given her a life she could have only ever imagined; even if it wasn't real, even if it was fleeting. She still carried it within her, and that was something she would have forever.

Regina swallowed thickly, her throat tight and burning from her tears, before whispering, "You're welcome." They stared at one another a long moment before she quietly added, "Thank you for taking care of our son."

"Regina…" Their gazes locked so fiercely in that moment that both women felt it blast right through them, as if they were looking _into _one another. The air grew thick and hot around them as they shared that one small breath of space and were unable to look away from one another.

"Yes?" Regina asked softly, her own heart now thumping madly against her ribcage.

Emma let out a staggered breath, her cheeks flushing the lightest of pinks as she forced herself to ask for what she wanted in that moment, for what she felt like they both needed—something that was long overdue. "I know this isn't something we do," she whispered, "but can we…can I hug you?"

Surprise flickered across Regina's features for only a moment, but then without words, Regina simply closed the minute distance between them, her arms wrapping tightly and warmly around Emma's body.

Emma let out a gentle sigh as she settled against the other woman, their arms wrapped so tightly around one another, communicating things that couldn't be put into words. And they merely remained that way, long moments passing, hearts beating gentler and gentler as relief flooded their bodies, as weight lifted from their souls.

They simply stood together, locked in a tight embrace on Regina's front porch, their typical walls just melting away to make room for that one needed moment in which Regina Mills and Emma Swan came to know one another again.

And anew.


	38. Chapter 38

**PROMPT: Regina somehow gets locked out of her house naked. Emma is the one that finds her.**

Emma was doing her typical night rounds while on duty, a late-night slow drive through the streets of Storybrooke to ensure that everything was calm and quiet. There were a few kids in town that liked to stir up trouble, so she liked to do regular drive-throughs in case they decided to toilet-paper or egg someone's house for kicks.

She turned down Mifflin Street, the cruiser creeping far below the speed limit. She slammed on her break as a flicker of motion to her right caught her attention, just outside of the Mayor's house.

Emma pulled over to the curb and squinted her eyes to see through the darkness. Her heart leapt into her throat when she saw a shadowed figure darting through Regina's side-yard and over to the side of the house.

Worried for the safety of her son and her son's other mother, Emma turned off the cruiser and leapt out of the car. She kept her hand on the hilt of her gun as she quietly darted across the yard toward the shadowed figure, who was now trying to open one of the lower-level windows of the house.

That was enough to scare the shit out of Emma. She quickly pulled her gun from her holster and lifted it into the position.

"Freeze!" she yelled out to the shadowed figure.

The person quickly turned, arms wrapping tightly around his or her body. Emma still couldn't make out who it was, or even what gender. She squinted as she kept her gun up and shouted, "Put your hands in the air and step away from the window."

The person stepped away from the window but didn't move their arms.

"I said put your hands up!"

"I can't!" the person hissed, and Emma's eyebrows instantly shot into her hairline as she undoubtedly recognized that voice.

"What?" she snapped as she dropped her gun back into her holster and took a few steps forward. "Regina?"

"Yes, Miss Swan!"

"What the hell are you doing trying to break into your own house?" Emma asked as she stepped a little closer.

"Wait!" Regina said quickly. "Don't come any closer."

"What? Why not?" Emma asked, starting to get worried again. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need help?"

"I'm fine, Miss Swan," Regina bit out, "and yes, I'm afraid I do require assistance, but do not come any closer."

"Well how can I assist you if I can't come any closer?" Emma asked her. "What is the problem? Why don't you want me near you?"

"Just…because…"

"Regina, this is ridiculous," Emma scoffed as she ignored Regina's request and took a few more steps.

"Stop!" Regina yelped again. "Emma, please."

That caused Emma to stop short. Regina rarely called her by her first name. She stopped and shuffled from foot to foot.

"Regina, seriously," Emma said quietly, "you're worrying me."

"It's fine," Regina told her. "I simply…I've locked myself out of my house by accident, and I am unfortunately not dressed."

That definitely caught Emma off guard. She nearly bit through her lip to prevent herself from bursting into laughter, because she knew that that would only piss the Mayor off, but she couldn't help finding the situation amusing. When she finally felt like she could speak without laughing, Emma asked, "How the hell did you manage that? Why were you outside naked?"

"I don't really want to go into that," Regina mumbled, and Emma did laugh then.

"Right, and you don't want to call Henry down because you're…yeah." Emma died laughing again.

She snorted she laughed so hard, and Regina merely huffed out an annoyed breath. "Yes, it's all very amusing. Can you help me or not?"

"Yeah," Emma told her with a shrug. "But I'm coming closer."

"What?" Regina asked sharply. "Why?"

"So that I can help you," Emma explained. "Chill. I've got boobs, too. Nothing I haven't seen before."

She was wrong though, because when she got close enough to Regina to actually see her, Emma's breath hitched roughly in her throat. A naked woman was nothing new to her, but Regina Mills was a fucking work of art.

Emma swallowed thickly as she did her best to avert her gaze as she walked right by Regina and around the house. She heard the brunette padding through the grass behind her. Emma pulled off her jacket and wrapped it around her fist before punching it through one of the small glass squares of the back patio door.

Regina let out a yelp. "What the hell?!"

"Got the door unlocked, didn't I?" Emma asked with a laugh. She'd unlocked the door from the inside and then pushed it open.

Regina glared at the woman, and though she wanted to bark some form of threat, she was simply overjoyed that she now had access to her house again. She shot past Emma and into the kitchen. Her entire face flushed a deep crimson then as Emma called out to her from the backyard.

"Oh, and nice ass, Madam Mayor!"


	39. Chapter 39

**PROMPT: Song Prompt—"Mirrors" by Natalia Kills.**

The heavy bass pumped hard and loud, echoing through their bedroom as sweat dripped along Emma's exposed stomach. The heat of the dozen candles only made it harder to breathe as Emma writhed against the silk scarves tying her wrists to the bedposts. She lay entirely nude on the bed, her hands bound, her body riddled with red welts and dried candle wax, and her eyes fixed hard and hungrily on the woman before her.

Regina, in nothing but black stilettos moved naughtily in time to the rhythm of the thumping bass. The brunette dipped low and brought her body up slowly, and Emma trembled with the motion. She moaned at the perfect view of Regina's sculpted ass as the woman's hips gyrated in front of her.

Emma's thighs clenched tightly together as Regina then slowly climbed atop the mattress and up the blonde's body. She rubbed her dripping sex over Emma's sweat-drenched chest as she rocked her hips in time to the music before climbing to her feet once more.

Regina balanced herself by bracing her hands against the wall and planted one stiletto-clad foot on each side of Emma's head.

Emma nearly came undone right then and there as she now had an extremely detailed view of the woman's drenched and throbbing core. Regina laughed, low and ragged, as Emma let out a hard, body-rocking moan.

"Oh god," Emma groaned. "Fucking untie me, Regina."

"Ah, ah, ah," Regina warned as she rocked her hips all the way down until her clenching pussy just barely brushed over Emma's nose, lips, and chin, before she popped back up again.

Regina then kicked off her heels, the shoes smacking into the walls with violent thuds, before the brunette expertly slid down the mattress so that she was writhing atop Emma's chest once more.

She brought her lips down so that she could swipe her tongue across Emma's bottom lip and said, "Sweetheart, you know I'm the boss."


	40. Chapter 40

**PROMPT: Lollipops.**

"Candy?" Regina asked, looking up from her paperwork and smirking at her girlfriend. "You think _candy _is sexy?"

"Well obviously not _just _candy, no," Emma told her, rolling her eyes as she relaxed into the couch in Regina's study. "I don't like walk into the damn store and think whoa, that bag of tootsie rolls is lookin' hot."

Regina bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing as that strange and hilarious image floated through her mind. "Well then _do _clarify, dear."

"I meant like women with candy," Emma explained. "You know, like chicks who do that slow tug thing when they eat twizzlers, or oooh, lollipops. That's a big one."

Regina found this entire conversation incredibly amusing, though she would be lying if she denied that she had gained a few ideas on how to give her girlfriend a few new sexy surprises.

They had been idly discussing particular quirks that they each found appealing while Regina worked. They had covered the basics, of course—sensual massages, sexy lingerie, and the like. And then Emma had suddenly thrown out the single word—candy.

That had certainly gotten Regina's attention.

"Lollipops?" Regina asked, intrigued.

"Oh yeah," Emma said, nodding her head. "Especially chicks with big lips or whatever. It's just hot to watch a girl eat a lollipop. I don't even know why. There's just lips and tongue and…and tongue. It's hot."

"Would that not be more of a perk for a man?" Regina asked her sincerely. "Aren't lollipops typically symbolic of a phallus?"

"What _isn't_ symbolic of a _phallus _to dudes?" Emma asked, scrunching her nose at the use of the term 'phallus.' She just found it weird.

"That is a fair point," Regina laughed out.

"Besides," Emma continued, ridiculously waggling her eyes at her girlfriend, "I don't have to have a dick to enjoy watching you work your lips and tongue around something, Regina."

Regina smirked as she shook her head back and forth and bit her bottom lip, and then in a flash Emma was leaning over her, bending to press her lips to the brunette's ear.

"But I _could _strap one on if you wanted me to," Emma whispered, causing tremors of excitement to ripple down Regina's spine.

Emma then pulled back and winked at her girlfriend before wordlessly turning on her heel and sauntering out of the room and up the stairs toward Regina's bedroom.

A wave of heat flooded through Regina's body as she quickly jumped to her feet to follow her girlfriend. She only a took a few steps, though, before she darted back to her desk and scribbled down a note for herself. She dropped the pen and pad back on the desk then and raced to catch up with her insanely sexy girlfriend.

_Buy lollipops._


	41. Chapter 41

**PROMPT: Chat fic. Magic Mirror.**

**Emma: **[dropping down onto a log next to Regina] So, did you really have a magic mirror?

**Regina: **[glances toward the blonde, quirks an eyebrow] That was rather random, dear. Looking for a distraction?

**Emma: **Well, we can't go to Pan's camp to get Henry until Tink agrees to help us, and I don't think I've ever been this bored in my entire life. Plus, I wouldn't mind having my mind taken off of where our kid is or what Pan might have him doing.

**Regina: **I see, and I take it your darling parents are not quite meeting the mark of keeping you entertained? What, are they too preoccupied with a pointless game of hide-and-seek, giggling incessantly while proclaiming that they will find one another?

**Emma: **[bursts into laughter] Oh wow, thank you for that. I really needed that laugh.

**Regina: **[laughs softly alongside Emma] I was being entirely serious, dear.

**Emma: **I know. Just makes it ten times funnier.

[A comfortable silence settles between them, and both women unconsciously shift closer until their shoulders are brushing.]

**Emma: **So..._did_ you?

**Regina: **Did I have a magic mirror?

[Emma nods]

**Regina: **Yes, I did; however, I will have you know that I never employed the mirror to answer pointless questions as that horrid Disney movie would have you believe.

**Emma: **What like, "Who's the fairest of them all?"

**Regina: **Precisely. First of all, I have never been one to believe that being "fair" makes one beautiful. Your mother is quite welcome to her milky white complexion. I will gladly keep my color. Secondly, I have never been THAT vain, dear.

**Emma: **[shrugs] Seems like Disney got a lot of stuff wrong.

**Regina: **Indeed.

**Emma: **But then again, it seems like reality got a lot of things wrong, too.

**Regina: **[turns head slightly to gaze at the blonde] As in?

[Emma's gaze fixates on something across from them. Regina follows her gaze to see that the blonde's parents are making their way toward them. She sighs heavily, realizing that her few moments of ease and comfort with the Savior have most likely come to a close.]

**Emma: **As in people thinking that you're evil. You're not.

[Regina's head snaps toward Emma, surprise gracing her features as a gentle gasp escapes her.]

[Emma stands up slowly, brushing off the backs of her legs from where she had been sitting. She steps toward her parents, but turns back at the last second and locks gazes with Regina.]

**Emma: **And the fact that anyone ever thought that Snow was more beautiful than you. [walks away, toward a beckoning Snow White]

[Regina smiles gently to herself as she watches Emma walk away, a stirring in her chest that feels so foreign yet so familiar.]


	42. Chapter 42

**PROMPT: "I'd trade all of my tomorrow's for just one yesterday."**

Regina,

I hear them now, you know? Your secrets. I hear them in my head every second. I see them when I close my eyes, when I try to sleep, when your face swims through my mind.

It's always distorted at first, your beauty, but then it shifts. It clarifies. It focuses. It becomes a full-motion, high-definition picture so incredibly clear in my mind that I swear I could reach out and touch you, touch all of those secrets that now dance so vividly in the memory of your eyes.

You never showed anyone, did you? You were always so guarded. Your body was a fortress. Your fists always clenched, prepared to fight.

But your eyes? They were soft, always. They were full. They were so much louder than your words.

Maybe that's how you tried. Maybe that's how you attempted to reach out and touch me across the spaces that always seemed to live between us. Somehow, we could never quite figure out how to close them.

And maybe that was my fault. Maybe I never reached far enough, never understood that your soft eyes were gentle requests to pull you closer.

I never did.

I didn't try hard enough. I didn't try to see beneath your exterior to all that you kept so guarded. I was too busy, you know?

I was too busy trying to keep my own defenses strong. I was too busy building my walls, reinforcing them, widening the gap.

I was too busy being afraid.

I wish I wasn't. I wish I hadn't been. I wish so many things that I'm sick with wishing.

I wish I could tell you now how much I see you, and how beautiful you are beneath the surface.

I wish I could climb inside my memory, Regina, and pull you back from the ledge; just tear across those spaces between us, latch onto you, and pull you back, pull you away, pull you in.

I wish I could take it all back.

I wish we could begin again, because if we could, Regina…if we could, I would do it right.

I would love you. I would crawl past your defenses. I would fight for you.

I would fix this. I would…I wish I could fix this.

—Emma


	43. Chapter 43

**PROMPT: After the final battle with Zelena, Regina collapses in Emma's arms and thinking she's going to die confesses her love for her (think "V's" confession to Evey when he dies in V for Vendetta) but Emma saves her with true loves kiss.**

By the time the battle reached its end, Storybrooke was a wasteland. Businesses, homes, roads—cracked and crumbled, obliterated by the force of magic igniting the cold Maine air. Countless precious lives had been lost, both children and adults. So many souls sacrificed in an effort to end the madness, to stop the war.

But it had raged on, Zelena's vengeance like a nuclear bomb that exploded on impact and then lingered long enough to claim lives in the rippling echoes that followed. Snow and Henry had been hidden away in Regina's vault, protected by every possible bit of light magic Regina and Emma could manage together. They were yet unaware of the hearts no longer beating above their heads—Granny, Tink, Blue, Hook, Grumpy, Robin, Rumple, Belle, and too many others.

Too many.

Countless others had been severely injured and were hidden away for shelter to be tended to by the few who remained to care for them. In the center of town, though, atop the cracked and open road and surrounded by the destruction of one woman's envy and despair, the battle still thundered loudly like the hammering fists of angry gods.

It all came down to three—the Evil Queen and the Savior standing together against the Wicked Witch.

All parties were battle-worn, their energies and lives waning. Emma bled copiously from from her chin, shoulder, and shins—massive gashes present in her clothing and along her flesh from the number of times she had been tossed by Zelena's blows or blasted away by the impact of magic clashing with magic. She kept coming back, though. She had to.

Her fingers always found their way to Regina's.

Her blonde hair was matted with crimson as she choked out a heavy cough, her face blackened with soot as she crawled from beneath a pile of rubble and forced herself to her feet. She stumbled forward, the massive burning light of purple and green in the sky stinging in her bloodshot eyes. She had been blasted away from the fight by the force of the magic colliding between she, Regina, and Zelena.

The two sisters still stood apart, thirty or so paces, their clothes torn, hair ragged and drenched with sweat and blood. Their flesh was marred with the same crimson and black that decorated Emma's own, and their stances were weakening. They both fought to remain on their feet as they kept their hands thrust outward, purple lightning ripping from Regina's palms to collide with the green beams exploding from Zelena's.

The beams met in the middle, sparking wildly and causing the ground beneath them to tremble. Zelena's eyes were wild still, despite the blood dripping from her nose and lip; despite the way her knees shook terribly beneath her weight.

And Regina…her body was an earthquake—trembling and trembling and trembling. But she held strong. She wouldn't give up.

Emma forced her body forward, fighting to get back to Regina's side before the magic overtook the brunette and the war ended in a way that Emma could not even bring herself to contemplate. She refused to lose this. She refused to let this happen.

They weren't going out like this.

"Give up, little sister," Emma heard Zelena call, her voice weak but still just as riddled with hatred as ever.

Regina said nothing. Emma knew it was because she couldn't. All of her energy was focused on the magic spewing from her hands.

Emma stumbled as quickly forward as she could, tripping and nearly falling as her vision blurred with the pain in her head and body. She reached Regina, though. There had been no other option.

They could do this. They _would _do this.

"R…" She tried to speak, but it came out as barely a whisper, not even audible over the sparking buzz of the magic. "Re…"

Emma's hand shook as it wrapped around Regina's bicep and slid down her arm. Regina's eyes locked onto Emma's for only a moment as their hands connected and their fingers interlaced. Instantly, the purple beams lightened, the white of Emma's magic making them almost pink. Regina sucked in a sharp breath, partially relieved of her burden as Emma's magic joined hers.

"Emma," she managed to choke out, and their eyes met again. "You…f-feel…it?"

Her words shook so hard that Emma struggled to understand them, but she did, and she knew exactly what Regina meant. When the magic connected, she felt the difference from before. It was weaker, both to and from each direction. It was dying.

They were reaching the end. Zelena didn't have the fight in her anymore, and neither did they. Whatever happened, this war was about to be over, and it was either going to take their lives or Zelena's.

Emma nodded, blood dripping down from her chin with the motion. Tears streaked through the soot on her cheeks and through Regina's as well. They were so tired. So tired.

"Thi…s…is…it," Regina choked out, and Emma nodded again. She then thrust forward her other hand and latched it around Regina's remaining one. With both hands clasped together, they poured every ounce of strength they could muster into one final burst of magic.

It exploded from their bodies in a brilliant pink burst of light, ripping down the beams and devouring the green until it impacted Zelena's body with enough force to send her flying through the air like a rag doll. It then shot backwards, and Regina's body took almost the full brunt of it.

Both she and Emma rocketed backwards as well, Emma only a few feet and Regina several.

The light in the air flickered and died, the magic no longer buzzing in the atmosphere, and suddenly it was dark. It seemed so terribly dark without it.

Ash drifted through the air as Emma slowly blinked open her eyes. She groaned and coughed up enough blood that she questioned how she was still alive. She slowly and shakily dragged herself to her feet once more, her blurry vision glancing around the wreckage.

She gasped as her eyes first locked on the crumpled body of their enemy. Zelena had been tossed several feet back by the force of their magic, her body impaled upon the jagged point of a partially destroyed street sign. Emma didn't need to draw any nearer to know that the woman was dead.

Dead.

Emma's heart clenched and then pounded heavily in her chest as she whipped around, her eyes wide and panicked. She had to find Regina.

"R…" She coughed fiercely again, but forced the name out this time. It was ragged and raw and it hurt to even whisper let alone scream, but she did it anyway. "Regina!"

A flicker of movement caught her attention, and Emma's head swam dizzily as she whipped to the right so quickly that she nearly fell over again. She choked down a wave of nausea as her vision cleared and her gaze latched onto Regina's trembling form, buckled in and chest heaving atop the crumpled hood of a destroyed car a few feet down the road.

Emma shuffled as quickly down the road as she could, her left leg screaming in protest. Emma didn't have to look to know that it was likely broken. Still, she hobbled over, her heart racing.

"Regina," she choked out again, reaching for the brunette. Regina's forehead was gashed open. Her gorgeous face was riddled with cuts, blackened with soot, and sticky with blood. One of her arms had gone through the glass of the windshield, and Emma had to yank it out, Regina screaming in pain the entire time.

Jagged shards of glass jutted out from Regina's forearm as Emma slid her from the hood of the car. Regina only collapsed to the ground, though, taking Emma down with her. She was a crumpled heap in the blonde's lap, trembling and breathing so rapidly that Emma was afraid she would hyperventilate until she knocked herself unconscious.

"Regina," she coughed. "C-can…you heal y'self…" She turned her head quickly to the side as she coughed fiercely again, blood spattering the ground in her saliva. Her chest ached with every breath, and her throat felt shredded.

Regina's wide chocolate eyes looked up into emerald. They were shaded with Regina's pain as the brunette shook her head slowly to indicate that she didn't have the energy or magic to heal herself. Her wounds weren't even the problem. It was her heart.

When she had finally recovered it, she had placed it back inside her chest, protected by a great number of spells. The strain she had put on the organ in the battle, though, and the amount of magic she had, unknown to Emma, absorbed in the blows just to spare the Savior from the brunt of it, had taken a terrible toll.

Her heart was beating too fast. Her breathing was too rapid. She had taken in too much.

Emma nodded her understanding, coughing again as she forced out her next words. Her arms were latched tightly around the woman in her lap as she said, "We n-need to…get y-you help." God, she wished her teeth would stop chattering. Everything just felt so terribly cold, though, and she barely had the energy to keep her eyes open.

Her body screamed for her to just lay down on the road beside Regina and sleep.

Regina shook her head again, and Emma didn't understand. "I'm…done," Regina told her then, her breath still coming in rapid, shallow bursts that Emma knew could never fill Regina's lungs the way they needed to be filled.

"No," Emma choked out, shaking her head. "No, you…you'll be…fine." She sucked in a hard gasp, and painfully cleared her throat, forcing her next words out cleanly and clearly despite how much her teeth still rattled in her skull. "We'll be fine."

Regina tried to offer the Savior a small smile, and Emma's heart clenched so forcefully at the sight of Regina's bloodstained pink teeth that she thought she might pass out. This wasn't happening. They had _not _come this far just to die.

"Don't g-give up now," Emma told her, shaking her head as tears pooled in her eyes again. "We made this f-far t-together. We won."

"Emma," Regina panted out, her trembling right hand latching onto the front of Emma's tattered shirt and clinging there at the blonde's chest.

Emma's head shook violently as she protested the acceptance of defeat dancing in Regina's eyes. "No," she said again, her voice harsh and ragged. "You c-can't give up. You can't le-leave me n-now."

Regina gave her that same soft, bloodied smile as tears leaked from her chocolate eyes. She was dying. She knew she was dying. She could feel her life ebbing with each rapid breath and staggered beat in her chest. She could accept that.

But the sadness in Emma's eyes called out to her, sank into her cells with purpose and beckoned forth all that Regina had kept hidden beneath the surface for so long. Her secrets traveled up her throat and stung on the tip of her tongue, desperate for release before she forever lost her chance to share them.

So she did.

She clung to Emma's shirt and to that haunted affection in Emma's emerald eyes, and she finally told the Savior how she felt.

She gritted her teeth as she spoke. It was the only way she could push the words forward without them breaking beneath the cold that had already begun to seep into her bones and into her voice. "F-for over forty y-years," she whispered raggedly, "I…I've been s-s-so angry. Wanting revenge. It w-was all that exist…ed."

"Reg—" Emma started, but Regina tightened her hold around Emma's shirt as much as she could and shook her head. She had to get this out before it was too late.

"Un-t-til you," Regina choked out, her eyes fluttering rapidly and her grip loosening for only a moment. "And then everything ch-ch-changed."

Emma's eyes were green oceans, tears spilling over her lids and carving paths through the soot on her cheeks. She gripped Regina tighter, held her closer, waited.

"I th-thought I c-couldn't love after…" Regina coughed roughly before spitting out, "D-daniel. But I fell in l-love with you, Emma." Emma's heart felt as if it might explode inside her chest as those words rocketed through her like a tidal wave of realization. Every moment she had ever had with Regina blasted through her mind, and she felt them in a way she had never felt them before. Everything was clearer. Everything was so much clearer.

Her hand wrapped tightly around Regina's as it still hung in her shirt and she nodded, her tears splashing down onto Regina's sooty cheeks.

"Regina, p-please," she whispered brokenly, and Regina just gave her that same sad smile. "I d-don't want to lose you."

Regina gasped beautifully at the words as if she had never expected anyone to say something so simple yet so profound to her, and then she let out a long hissing breath that sounded as if it might be her last, but then a few soft bursts of breath came after. Her eyes widened, growing distant as she raggedly whispered, "Th-thank you."

And then, that gentle light in her eyes faded entirely. Her body went limp in Emma's lap, her hand loosening in Emma's and releasing its hold on the blonde's shirt. Her head lolled back over Emma's arm, and she was gone.

Tears ripped hotly from Emma's eyes as she clenched them tightly closed and openly sobbed. She wrapped herself tightly around Regina's body and rocked her back and forth despite the blows of pain that came with the movement. Her leg screamed in protest. Her entire body did, but she didn't stop.

This woman, whom she had fought against and with for so long; this woman with whom she shared a precious son; this woman who somehow made her both mad as hell and happy; this woman who had given her more gifts than Emma could count even if she had never openly voiced her gratitude, which she now regretted; this woman with whom Emma had always been able to be herself; this woman who had fought so long for redemption…

This woman, Regina, had just saved countless lives and in her final breath, had confessed to loving her.

Emma didn't know how to process that. Her entire body shook with the revelation of it as she continued to rock Regina's lifeless form, whispering apologies and her own confessions of feelings never before spoken.

After sobbing loudly and wetly until her voice gave entirely out, Emma tipped back her head and looked down into Regina's lifeless eyes once more. Salted drops of water leaked from her nose and splashed atop Regina's face as Emma whispered, "I love you," one final time and pressed her bloodied lips to Regina's in the softest goodbye she could manage.

As her eyes fluttered closed and her lips pressed to Regina's, a rippling wave of magic pulsated out from their gentle connection and vibrated in the air.

Emma's heart slammed into her ribcage as she felt the still body in her arms suddenly jolt. Her green eyes shot open as the woman she had only just known to be dead gasped almost violently against her lips.

Emma's head jerked back, a sob wrenching through her lips as Regina blinked up at her—surprise and disbelief and affection painting chocolate eyes.

"You," Regina whispered so softly that the single word felt like a warm blanket enveloping Emma's freezing body.

Emma cried openly as she wetly whispered back,_"You._"

Regina's hand, still resting against Emma's shirt, dug into the material once more, latching on with renewed strength. Not another word slithered across cracked lips as that hand pulled with purpose. Their lips met again; a firmer press, a spark of hope, a fire of triumph.

They trembled against one another as they kissed again and again, the sparkling light of the magic in their love dancing along their flesh as they sweetly collided—a burst of beauty in the wreckage.


	44. Chapter 44

**PROMPT: Regina acts jealous and inexplicably angry when Hook is around Emma. As a result, Emma assumes Regina is jealous of HER and wants to be with Hook.**

"Oh, you haven't yet burned that vile thing?" Regina teased as Emma sauntered over to the booth in which the former queen was seated. They had each gone to Granny's separately, but given the strange sort of friendship that they had sparked since their return from Neverland, Emma figured that eating together would be better than eating alone.

"What thing?" Emma asked her as she slid into the seat opposite Regina.

"That hideous jacket."

Emma chuckled as she glanced down at the red leather jacket. "Yeah, yeah, say what you want, Regina," she laughed out, "but I think you secretly like it."

"Hardly," Regina drawled, though both she and Emma were well aware of the small smile playing at her lips.

"So, what are you having?" Emma asked her as she grabbed a menu, even though she already knew what both she and Regina were going to order.

Before Regina could answer, though, another voice rang out from across the diner, accompanied by the jingle of the door's bell.

"Swan!"

Both Regina and Emma turned to see Hook standing in the doorway, dressed in his usual attire of leather and leather and more leather. He smiled at her from across the room before making his way over.

Emma offered him a tight smile, and while looking at him, she failed to notice the way Regina's expression completely crumpled.

"Hook," Emma said curtly, nodding at him. He continued to smile at Emma, arching his brow in that way that made Regina's skin crawl, before he turned and offered a nod in her direction as well. She merely rolled her eyes and went back to her menu.

"I've been searching for you," Hook told Emma, moving closer to the table.

"Huh?" Emma asked him. "Why? And since when?"

"Oh, all my life, love," Hook answered, winking devilishly.

Regina snorted and rolled her eyes again, though she didn't look up nor did she say anything. Emma glanced at her once before looking back to Hook. "Seriously?" she deadpanned. "You gotta work on your pick-up lines."

"Or we could skip the lines and go straight to the—" Hook started but stopped abruptly when Regina shot to her feet and pushed her way out of the booth.

"Where are you going?" Emma asked her quickly, rising also and pushing Hook gently out of the way, her brows furrowing with her concern.

"To another table," Regina bit out, cutting a glare in Emma's direction. "I'm sure you would both rather eat together." She then stalked off to the other side of the diner, Emma watching her go with a flurry of guilt stirring in her gut.

* * *

It happened again a few days later, and this time, Emma was sure she had zeroed in on the issue.

She and Regina had been having a pretty friendly conversation at the diner again, where they frequently ran into one another—or more like Emma often found herself seeking the woman out, though she'd never admit that aloud. She rather liked her friendship with Regina, preferred it even. The woman understood her on a level no one else seemed to be able to, thus Emma always found herself seeking out Regina's company.

They were standing at the bar together, laughing about yet another funny story from Henry's childhood, when Hook interrupted once again.

As soon as Hook had made the first of what was sure to be several sexual innuendos, Regina's eyes had rolled so hard that Emma was surprised they hadn't fallen into the back of her skull before the brunette skulked off once more.

This time, though, Emma followed her right out of the diner. "Hey," she called as she caught up to Regina and fell in stride with her. "What was that about?"

"What was _what _about, Miss Swan?" Regina snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and refusing to look in Emma's direction.

"Whoa, hey," Emma said, grabbing Regina's arm gently and stopping her. She turned the woman to face her and asked, "What's with the Miss Swan stuff? I thought we were pretty good with Emma."

Regina spoke through gritted teeth as she glared at Emma and said, "Please just go back and enjoy your…_date_, if you could call it that, with the pirate, Miss Swan. There is no need for you to run out here after me."

"I think there is," Emma told her. "Look, don't blow me up or anything for saying this, but you're acting like a jealous teenager, Regina, and I think I know why."

Rage followed by panic spilled through Regina's eyes as she tried to think of a quick excuse and escape plan. She wanted to snap at Emma for comparing her to a child, but she could also hardly deny the truth in the woman's words.

She found herself strangely rooted to the spot, unable to move away from Emma's magnetic presence, and she wanted to rip out her own tongue when she heard her voice, too soft and timid to be natural, escape her unbidden. "You do?"

"Yeah," Emma told her, nodding, "and look, it's cool if you're into Hook. I'm not interested in him anyway. He just doesn't really understand the word 'no' apparently."

She chuckled as she shrugged, but when she looked back up to lock gazes with Regina, her stomach stirred uncomfortably. The brunette looked positively horrified and maybe even a little ill.

"Shit, don't be mad, okay? I mean, I won't tell anyone," Emma told her quickly, now panicking a little herself.

"Hook?!" Regina finally managed to choke out, her eyes wide. "You think I am actually _interested _in _Hook_?!"

Emma's cheeks instantly flushed a deep crimson as she realized that she had apparently read the woman's actions entirely wrong, but she had been so sure that Regina had been jealous. God, she was mortified, but still she asked, "Uh…you're not?"

"Gods no!" Regina exclaimed.

"But you've been acting so jealous every time he comes around," Emma said quickly. "Why would you act like that if you weren't interested in him?"

Regina let out a frustrated sigh as she threw her hands into the air and said, "You are terribly dense sometimes."

"Hey!" Emma snapped, but the word died quickly in her throat as Regina lunged forward and planted her lips atop the blonde's.

The kiss was a hard press at first but softened by the second, and though she had been entirely startled at first, Emma quickly found herself tentatively pressing back, eyes fluttering shut and hands reaching for Regina's sides of their own accord.

When supple lips slowly pulled from hers, Emma just gaped at Regina, both their cheeks flushed and not from the cold breeze.

Regina swallowed thickly after a beat, her eyes darting down to Emma's lips as if she wanted nothing more than to lean in and capture them again. "Does that it make it clear, dear?"

They stared at each other another long moment before Emma just burst into loud and unsettling laughter. Regina was a little put off at first, her confidence cracking, but then Emma grabbed her tighter and pulled her closer. "Yeah," she said against Regina's lips. "I think I've got it now."


	45. Chapter 45

**PROMPT: Sex Shop AU**

"I don't know," Emma mumbled, her cheeks tinted a light pink. "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

Regina chuckled softly as she turned in the passenger seat of Emma's yellow Bug and smiled at her girlfriend. "You _really _don't want to go in there, do you?"

They had been sitting in the parking lot of one of the better-known (and better reputation) sex shops in the city for over ten minutes. Regina had merely been quiet, patiently letting her girlfriend decide if they were going to ever actually get out of the car and cross the threshold into the building or simply leave the parking lot and head back to the hotel.

"Don't laugh," Emma groaned. "It's just that I've never really cared for places like this. I just feel weird in them, like people are staring at me or like people are judging me for everything I look at or touch."

"Emma, there is nothing to be ashamed of where sex and desire are concerned," Regina told her, reaching across the console and patting the blonde's thigh. "Whatever you choose to take interest in is only our business, and I highly doubt anyone will care what we browse or what we buy. I'm sure any other customers will be too concerned with their own purchases, and even if they _were _judging us for our choices, when have you or I ever cared what others thought of us?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Emma muttered after a few minutes. "Okay, let's go, but like…I don't wanna be in there for an hour."

"We will be in there for however long we like," Regina said, smirking at her. Emma just rolled her eyes and climbed out of the Bug, running around to get her girlfriend's door, before allowing Regina to lead her inside _The Pleasure Chest_.

* * *

The first five minutes inside _The Pleasure Chest _were hell for Emma. She was highly uncomfortable, and kept taking note of how many other customers there were. She refused to let herself actually examine any products if there was someone other than Regina within ten feet of her. Regina, though, marched around the place like she owned it, reading product boxes and even hashing out scenarios for Emma, which only made the blonde's face redden more and more.

But then Emma's eyes scanned over a section of the store she hadn't been expecting, a section that wasn't focused specifically on sex toys or porn DVDs. And suddenly, she found her feet carrying her away from her girlfriend, her eyes fixated on something that had captured her attention.

Emma's fingers ran down the silky material of some of the sexiest lingerie she had ever seen—solid black with tiny red silken bows embedded in the laced corset of the top, and when she lifted the top on the hanger to get a better view of the thin thong bottoms, Emma's eyes bugged out as an immediate, naughty, and all-too-enticing image of Regina flashed through her mind.

There, imprinted on the silken panties, was a crimson crown.

"REGINA!" Emma called out, not even realizing that she had practically just shouted across the store. "They have queen lingerie! We're_ so_ getting these."

Regina just laughed as she made her way over.


	46. Chapter 46

**PROMPT: Regina secretly has an obsession with a movie. One day Emma and Regina find it on TV and Regina tries to refrain from quoting it.**

Regina tucked her frigid toes under her girlfriend's thighs to warm them as she lay back on the couch and watched Emma flip through the channels on the television.

"There's gotta be something good on," Emma mumbled as she tapped the channel-up button over and over.

"We have over three hundred DVDs, darling," Regina said, chuckling. "I'm sure you could find something to watch from _that _selection."

Emma was seated at the opposite end of the small couch, her legs propped up on the coffee table, one hand clutching the remote and the other rubbing up and down one of Regina's shins. "Yeah, but I'm lazy and don't want to get up to actually go look through them," she countered, turning to grin at Regina.

The brunette merely rolled her eyes and reached for the blanket draped over the back of the couch. She yanked it down and threw one end to her girlfriend while she spread the other end over herself. Emma caught the other end and fanned it out over her lap, making sure that Regina's legs were covered. Her girlfriend was constantly complaining about being cold despite the fact that it never went below seventy-two degrees in her house.

"I swear you have the circulation of a ninety-year-old woman," Emma joked, poking at her girlfriend's knees.

Regina used her toes to pinch the underside of Emma's thigh, which made the blonde yelp. "Okay, okay, Raptor toes!" Emma laughed out. "I won't make fun of your freezing limbs again."

"You had better not," Regina teased, grinning at the blonde.

"Oh wait!" Emma cheered, her eyes fixed on the television again. She went back down a few channels and cheered again. "I love this movie! We're so watching it."

Regina glanced over at the TV, and a flash of excitement rippled through her as well, but she was sure to keep it from outwardly showing. Apparently _Mean Girls _was playing on some random channel, and though it was already about fifteen minutes into the movie, Regina didn't even care. Secretly, she loved this movie, though she would never admit it aloud.

In fact, Regina had seen this movie more times than she could count. She could actually even recite nearly the entire film, and still cracked up at it despite knowing it by heart. She knew, though, that Emma would tease her relentlessly if the blonde ever found out, so Regina would have to rein it in and try to enjoy the movie without her usual loud laughter and audible recital of the lines.

Regina put on a good show at first, too. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You _would _pick such a juvenile film."

"Oh come on," Emma laughed out. "Have you ever even seen this movie? I don't even care that it's juvenile. It's friggin' hilarious, and oh-oh! The main mean girl's name is _Regina_. Holy shit, it's perfect."

Regina rolled her eyes again despite the fact that that had secretly always been her favorite part about this movie, too. As glad as she was that she no longer carried the title of "evil", she couldn't deny that she still had quite the mean-girl personality when it suited her or her circumstances. Sometimes, it was simply fun to watch people squirm-Emma's mother, in particular.

Regina kept the blanket tucked up to her chin to partially cover her mouth, her hand somewhat covering it as well because the longer the movie went on, the harder she found it to resist smiling and at least mouthing the lines.

Emma giggled along with the film, sometimes laughing obnoxiously loud, which Regina appreciated because it muffled the sound of her own quiet laughter. It still sometimes surprised Regina that she found it hilarious that many of the lines about Regina George were interchangeable with her and could easily have been spoken about her at one point or other. One would think it would be upsetting, but nope. Regina thought it was quite funny.

Especially when Janis is talking about Regina George and says, "'Cause she's a life ruiner. She ruins people's lives."

Regina mouthed along to the line and tried really hard not to laugh out loud, because in her mind, she could easily imagine someone like Snow or Ruby saying it about _her_, and it just made it all the funnier.

Regina nearly lost it again during the intervention assembly scene. "Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by Regina George." Regina laughed out loud when she realized that she had accidentally mouthed _Mills _instead of _George_. Emma shot her a questioning look, but then the blonde just smiled like yeah, she thought it was funny that everyone in the auditorium, including the teachers, had raised their hands.

Regina accidentally laughed out loud again during the trust-fall scene when the girl from a different school went on a spiel about her _feelings. _"I wish I could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat and be happy."

When Emma looked at her, brows raised, Regina just snorted and said, "That girl is the embodiment of your mother."

Emma cracked up at that, even as her eyes narrowed at her girlfriend. She had a sneaking suspicion that Regina had either seen this movie before or was enjoying it much more than the brunette was letting on. "Yeah, good point," she laughed out. "A cake filled with rainbows and smiles would be right up her alley."

A moment later, Emma discovered Regina's secret. She had been careful to watch her girlfriend out of the corner of her eye as the movie continued, and that was when she realized the true reason behind Regina hiding her mouth with the blanket. The woman's hand had shifted and Emma caught Regina mouthing out the lines of the movie in perfect time just as Janis shouted, "I guess it's probably because I've got a big _LESBIAN _crush on you! Suck on that!"

Emma gasped and smacked her girlfriend's leg, Regina's eyes going wide as saucers. "You _have _seen this movie!" Emma snapped at her, laughing with her shock. "And you _LOVE _it!"

"I do not," Regina tried to argue, but Emma just smacked her leg playfully again before pouncing on the brunette.

"You do too!" Emma shrieked. "You were just reciting the freaking lines!" She crawled up Regina's body, tickling as she went, and Regina jerked and wiggled beneath her, pushing at the blonde's hands and trying not to laugh out loud.

When Emma was even with Regina, her face hovering over the gorgeous chocolate eyes below, the blonde smiled down at her girlfriend and said, "And you tried to make _me _feel like an idiot for liking this movie when _you _can friggin' recite it."

Regina bit her lip, her cheeks flushing with her slight embarrassment.

Emma laughed at the sweet expression before bending to press a quick kiss to Regina's lips. "Don't be embarrassed," she said, chuckling. "I think it's cute."

"You do?" Regina asked, glancing up at her.

"Yeah," Emma told her, her smile growing, "but that that's probably because I've got a big _LESBIAN _crush on you."

Regina burst into loud laughter as she jerked her girlfriend down and pressed their lips together, the melodic sound vibrating against Emma's teeth.


	47. Chapter 47

**PROMPT: Regina is dating Robin in Storybrooke and Emma is upset about it. Even better if she realizes she's in love with Regina.**

Emma actually groaned out loud when she followed her son through the door of Granny's diner and the very first thing she saw was Regina in a nearby booth, publicly canoodling with Forest-Face, as Emma had taken to calling him. It wasn't one of her better or more inventive names, but give the woman a break. She hadn't been sleeping much lately, okay?

It seemed that every freaking place Emma went, there was Regina, which wasn't anything new nor was it a problem in itself. It was the fact that Regina never seemed to just be Regina anymore. It was always Regina and Regina's new _boyfriend_ .

What, were they suddenly freaking attached at the hip now? Jesus, let the woman breathe, why don't you? And like, where the hell was this dude's son? Wasn't the kid just a toddler? He never even seemed to be around anymore.

A-plus parenting there, Forest-Face. Maybe Regina should teach you some things about how to properly take care of your child. Oh hell. Emma sucked in a sharp breath and closed her eyes, annoyed with herself. She had to stop mind-lecturing people, as if she actually cared, and like, since when is she all Team-Mom-Regina?

Emma was a perfectly fine parent, too. So...yeah. _There_ .

Emma rolled her eyes when the pair made eye contact with her as she followed Henry to a table entirely too close to the grotesquely happy new couple. Regina had smiled at her and offered a small wave, which had made Emma's heart jump, but before she could return it, she had caught Forest-Face smiling at her as well, giving her a gentle nod of acknowledgment as if they were friends or old acquaintances or something.

"Something wrong?" Henry asked as Emma plopped heavily down in the seat across from him, her face contorted into a scowl.

"Huh?" Emma asked, shaking her head. "What? No, kid. Why?"

"Because you look like you want to punch someone," he told her, chuckling.

Good idea, kid. Good idea.

"No, Henry," Emma said, forcing out a laugh. "I'm fine. So, what are you getting?"

She didn't even hear her son's response, because the minute he started talking, Emma's focus had instantly been reclaimed by the people sitting just to their left.

God, what was Regina even doing? Like, what was with all the smiles and the weird little giggles? Had Regina been invaded by an alien or something? Was she a pod-person now? Because Regina Mills did not giggle like a fourteen-year-old. Nope. _No_ . Absolutely not.

"_Mom_ ."

Emma's head jerked back around at the stressed sound of her son's voice. "Huh?" she asked. "What?"

Henry just cocked a brow at her, a look that was purely his other mother, and said, "You're not even listening to me."

"What? No!" Emma said, scoffing. "I'm totally listening, kid."

"Oh yeah?" Henry challenged. "Then what'd I just say."

"Uh..." Emma muttered, her cheeks tinting a soft pink. "Um."

"Uh huh," Henry said, looking smug. "I knew it. What is your deal? You've been acting really weird lately."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked him. "No, I haven't."

"Yes you have," another voice cut in. Emma looked up to see Ruby standing there. "Every time that you have come into the diner in the past two weeks with the exception of maybe once, you have sulked around or looked like you were about ready to jump the first person who looked at you funny."

Emma bit her tongue to keep from snapping at her friend. She took a deep breath in through her nose and closed her eyes, pressing her fingertips to her temples. "Look, I don't know, okay?" she said after a moment. "I'm sorry. I just...I haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately. That's all."

"Why not?" Henry asked her.

"I don't know, kid." Emma glanced over at the table to their left again and her heart clenched tightly when she realized that Regina was looking right at her, the brunette obviously quite interested in the apparently audible conversation taking place between Emma, Ruby, and Henry.

Shit, Emma thought. Great. Now Regina knows about my insomnia. She's probably feeling all smug right now that I can't sleep while she's off frolicking in the stupid weeds with Forest-Face.

Ruby watched the way Emma's gaze drifted back to Regina's table, and the scowl on the blonde's face only seemed to deepen. It wasn't the first time Ruby had noticed this. It seemed that Emma's crappy mood always perfectly coincided with the arrival and/or presence of the former queen and her rugged new man-friend.

Seemed like someone was a little jealous, even if Emma hadn't yet realized that jealousy was _exactly _ why she wasn't sleeping.

"Emma," Ruby said, snapping her fingers to pull the blonde's focus back to her.

When Emma turned back around, she realized that both Ruby and Henry were staring at her. "Uh, sorry," she muttered out again.

"Yeah," Ruby said, chuckling. "Could you come to the back for a minute and help me with something?"

"What do you need help with?"

"Just...uh, I need help," Ruby said quickly.

Emma sighed and rose from the table. "Be right back, kid," she said, ruffling Henry's hair as she passed by him and followed Ruby to the kitchen.

Once they were behind closed doors, Ruby whirled on Emma and asked, "So, how long has this been going on?"

"What?" Emma asked her, sincerely confused.

"This," Ruby said again, motioning to Emma and then toward the kitchen door, indicating the dining area beyond. "You being jealous over Regina."

"What?" Emma snapped, sucking in a gasp. "That's ridiculous. I am _not _ jealous. So what if Regina has a boyfriend. Why would I be jealous of that? Fores-uh, _Robin_ , isn't even my type."

Ruby snorted with laughter at that. "No, idiot, not jealous of Regina," she clarified. "Jealous of _Robin_ ."

Emma's eyes bulged with that one. "Wha...you think?" she muttered. "Me and...you think I'm _into Regina?_ "

"No," Ruby told her, grinning. "I _know _ you are. Emma, every single time you see them together, you are suddenly in a terrible mood. If glares were enough to kill, that poor man would've been dead on the floor weeks ago."

Emma instantly went to argue, despite the fact that a strange stirring feeling had ignited in her gut. Everything Ruby said perfectly made sense, and Emma knew it. Was she going to admit that now, though?

Abso-friggin'-lutely not.

"Look, Rubes, I love you," Emma said, "but you're way off the mark here. I mean, it's just ridiculous to even think that way. _Regina? _ Come on. I'm not into Regina. The woman hates me, and it's not like we actually get along."

"Oh, so now we're just telling blatant lies?" Ruby laughed out mockingly. "Is that how we're playing it? Okay, Emma. Keep living in the past then."

Ruby reached out and patted Emma's shoulder before heading back into the dining area. Emma took a deep breath to steady herself, that stirring in her gut only intensifying, before she followed the waitress.

As she was heading back to her table, the soft melody of Regina's laugh rippled through the diner, and Emma's heart clenched in her chest.

At the painful yet incredible sensation, Emma's eyes widened and shot to the booth where the brunette sat, smiling. As soon as she looked at Regina, her stomach flipped and then flipped again, and Emma's heart sank down into it.

Emma's skin tingled as she suddenly felt faint. Oh god, she thought. I'm totally in love with her.


	48. Chapter 48

**PROMPT: Maleficent is back and realized Emma and Regina have a thing for each other. With the help of Henry(and maybe Tink) they set them up but it fails miserably in a hilarious and ridiculous way. Maybe have Neal and Hook around.**

"You sure do wear a lot of pink for someone who is supposed to be a villain."

Maleficent slowly turned her head, one slender brow raised, and pinned the young teen with a glare. "And?" she drawled.

"I'm just saying," Henry laughed out as he stared at the bright pink blouse the woman wore. "Villains usually wear black or red or _maaaaybe _ purple, _dark _ purple, but mostly black and red. Oh, or green!"

The witch sighed as she clucked her tongue. How she had ever convinced herself to resume a friendship with Regina Mills was beyond her. The woman, as a part of her supposed "redemption", had finally restored Maleficent to her human form, and while the blonde had attempted to kill Regina at first, they had eventually made amends.

Thus, for the last three months, Maleficent had been adjusting to life in Storybrooke. She found it as dull as the Enchanted Forest, but worse, because she no longer had her fortress or her precious unicorn. Instead, she had a room in Regina's mansion for the time being and a teenage boy as opposed to a fantastical beast.

"Is there some color-coded manual for evil that I am unaware of, dear?" Maleficent asked. "Has your mother been hiding it from me all these years so as to ensure my embarrassment when I showed up to the villains convention in pastels?"

Henry's eyes widened with excitement. "There's a villains convention?!"

Maleficent closed her eyes and shook her head. This is why she never had children. Pets were always better. Pets were better than most things. Had Regina ever listened to her, though? Nope.

Regina could have easily solved all her problems by filling her heart with the love of a unicorn. Instead, the woman had sought revenge and curses and love and a child. Maleficent rolled her eyes at the thought. Classic Regina.

Maleficent didn't even bother to answer Henry's question, skipping right over it to ask one of her own. "Where is your mother again?"

"She had to go help Ma with something," Henry said, shrugging his shoulders. "Some kind of pipe burst in town hall and she..."

Maleficent stopped listening as the boy droned on. Of course Regina had run off to help the Savior. The two women were constantly in need of one another despite the fact that they forever pretended to loathe one another.

"I'm pretty sure Ma probably burst the pipe herself just so that Mom would go over there," Henry finished, laughing, and Maleficent's head snapped up.

"What?" she asked him. "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on," Henry told her, grinning. "Everyone knows they're in love with each other, except maybe _them_."

Maleficent simply gaped at the teenager for a moment before a smile touched her lips as well. She definitely agreed, but she had not expected Henry to be aware of the attraction and obvious feelings between his two mothers. "I couldn't agree more, Henry."

"We should totally do an operation," Henry told her, getting excited.

"Pardon?"

"An operation," he said again. "You know, like a scheme to get them together."

"My, my," Maleficent said, chuckling. "Scheming? You _are _ Regina's son after all, aren't you?"

Henry just grinned at her.

"You know, Henry," Maleficent continued. "I enjoy you much more when you are a bit more on the mischievous side. Perhaps it is my own wicked background, but it makes me proud to see that evil little glint in your eye."

Henry cracked up at that. "Don't let Mom hear you encouraging me. So, are you in?"

"Oh, I am most definitely in."

* * *

"And you are _positive _ that your mothers will find these?" Maleficent asked as Henry slipped the envelope onto Regina's usual table at Granny's about three minutes before he knew she would be arriving. The woman was like clockwork-same routine, same times, every single day without fail.

He hadn't taken into the account the fact that his mother might be behind on her schedule or might not be swinging by the diner at all given the apparent "emergency" at town hall.

"Yeah, totally," Henry told her. "Come on we gotta go place the other one and get out of here before Mom comes in and catches us."

They made their way quickly out of the diner and on to their next destination.

A moment later, Hook strolled into Granny's. He glanced around before making his way over to the nearest booth and dropped into the seat. His brows furrowed as he reached for a small envelope that was on the table, pushed over by the window. Surely it couldn't be for him? How would anyone know that he would be there?

Then again, he went to Granny's nearly every day.

Hook opened the envelope and found a small note.

_"I'm finally ready to tell you how I really feel about you. Meet me at the docks at sundown. _

_-Emma"_

A slow grin stretched across Hook's face. "I knew it," he muttered to himself. He would most definitely be on that dock at sundown.

* * *

"Just put it on the desk, and I'll keep lookout," Henry told Maleficent as he stood just inside the door of the Sheriff's station.

Maleficent strode quickly into the main room of the station and laid the envelope on the first desk she came to, unaware that it was the deputy's desk.

Once the task was complete, she and Henry bolted from the station and headed back to Regina's mansion.

Around thirty minutes or so later, Robin made his way into the station and toward the deputy's desk. He had taken over the position of deputy shortly after the new Charming baby was born so that David could spend more time at home. Plopping down into his chair, he reached for a small envelope on his desk.

Had someone left him a note?

He opened the envelope and read the short message.

_"I'm finally ready to tell you how I really feel about you. Meet me at the docks at sundown._

_-Regina"_

Robin's eyes widened as he re-read the note. He was surprised to say the least. He had tried with Regina when they had first arrived in Storybrooke with the curse, but they had only managed a few lovely moments together before the former queen had turned him down, saying that she needed space or time or something beyond words. He had respectfully backed away and had not pursued her since.

Was Regina finally ready to go there with him? To begin a relationship? Perhaps the waiting had paid off; either way, Robin would most definitely be on that dock at sundown.

* * *

Maleficent and Henry posted up out of sight but with perfect view of the docks. They would inch closer if they needed to once the two women they were waiting for arrived.

"You think it's going to work?" Henry whispered, and Maleficent awkwardly patted his head, as if he was the unicorn she was still desperately missing.

"I do," she told him. "Your mother has been obsessed with love for yours, and I know little about the Savior, but I do know who _her _ mother is, and I find it hard to believe that the spawn of Snow White would not also be attracted to a chance at love."

Henry snorted with laughter. "Ma is way different from Grandma, though."

"That may be so," Maleficent told him, "but she would still be a fool to pass up a romance with Regina. The woman loves like a goddess."

Henry looked over at the blonde witch. "You really like my mom, don't you?"

Maleficent's lip curled in disgust. "If you tell her, I will be forced to turn you into a fly and swat you."

Henry laughed. "I won't tell."

"Wise decision, my dear."

"Oh look!" Henry suddenly said, his whisper growing slightly in volume. "Someone's coming."

They both crouched a little lower and watched. They were at a bit of a poor angle now that the sun had shifted further down. It glared in their eyes as they squinted to see.

"Wait," Henry said, confused. "Is that...is that _Hook_?"

* * *

"Killian?"

Hook swiveled around to see a very confused Robin Hood lingering behind him on the dot. One bushy brow arched up as Hook responded, "Hood," with a tilt of his head. "Out for a stroll, mate?"

Robin shook his head. "No, actually, I received a letter from Regina."

"Aye?" Hook was intrigued. "I did as well...from Swan."

"Asking you to meet her here?" Robin questioned, and Hook nodded.

"Aye," he said again.

"And you haven't seen either of them since you arrived?" Robin asked.

Hook shook his head in answer. "Do you think we've been tricked?"

"It would appear so," Hood answered, "unless the ladies are simply running a bit behind schedule."

"Perhaps," Hook relented.

They decided to wait a bit longer, both of them dropping onto a bench on the dock. Hook took out his flask and held it toward Robin.

"Fancy a swig?"

* * *

"I just don't understand," Henry whined as he and Maleficent made their way up the short path to the mansion's front door. "How is it possible that _both _ letters ended up with the wrong person?!"

"I should have used a spell," Maleficent replied, shaking her head. "That way, we could have at least ensured that your insufferably oblivious mothers were the only ones who could receive the letters."

"Yeah," Henry agreed as he slid his key in the lock and opened the door, looking back at the witch behind him. "We can try that tomorrow, I guess?"

He turned to step into the house and froze, his eyes practically shooting out of his skull.

There were his two mothers, wrapped around one another and feasting on each other's mouths like starving beasts. Emma had Regina pressed against the wall, and Regina's hands were everywhere.

Henry's keys dropped from his hand and clanked against the floor, causing the two women to spring apart. Maleficent cackled from behind the shell-shocked teenager.

"Oh dear," she laughed out. "It seems we needed not scheme at all."


	49. Chapter 49

**PROMPT: Regina speaks sexy Spanish to Emma.**

Emma groaned as she rested her forehead against the cool surface of her desk and pushed her stack of paperwork away from her. She felt like she had been staring at the white sheets for hours, when in reality, it had only been about twenty minutes. Still, Emma was already sick of it.

At the end of every quarter, Emma cursed herself for letting her paperwork build up and would vow to not do it again. But then, she always did it again. She couldn't help herself.

The secretarial side of the Sheriff's position haunted her dreams. It was a legitimate nightmare.

A throat cleared from behind her, making Emma jerk and jump. She whirled around in her chair to see the Mayor leaning against the the frame of the doorway just behind her.

"Oh, Regina," Emma said, not wanting to admit that the woman had startled her. Her brows furrowed as she got no response from the brunette. Regina, instead, simply leaned against the frame, her back bowed against it, one high-heeled foot hiked up against it as well. The Mayor wore a long designer trench coat, tied and cinched tightly at her waist.

"Look, Regina," Emma tried again, "I know I'm late on paperwork. I'm doing it now, and I'll have it done by the end of the day. So, if you came here to bitch at me, just save it, okay?"

Again, Regina didn't even bother to look up at her, and Emma didn't think that the woman was even going to respond, but then Regina's low, silky voice drifted to her from where the woman's head was bowed against her chest.

"He estado pensado en ti."

A shiver shot straight down Emma's spine. She didn't understand a word of Spanish other than simple little things like that 'rojo' meant red and 'manzana' was apple. The only phrase she remembered from high school was 'Hola. Me llamo Emma.'

So, no, she wasn't great with Spanish and couldn't really speak a lick of it, but she damn sure recognized the language when she heard it, and Regina Mills had just spoken Spanish to her in the lowest, sexiest, silkiest voice that Emma had ever heard echo from the brunette.

"Uh, okay," Emma said after a moment, her mouth suddenly feeling dry. What was happening right now? "I don't actually speak Spanish, but—"

Her words died in her throat when Regina finally looked up at her, dark eyes shining in the fluorescent lights of the Sheriff's station. Her heel tapped against the floor as she dropped her leg and turned to face the Sheriff fully. Her fingers went to the tie at her waist as she took several small steps toward Emma, her gaze never leaving Emma's.

"He estado pensado en _muchas_ cosas."

Another shiver rippled down Emma's spine and then developed into a trembling knot at its base, making her back arch forward with the near-painful sensation. Something about the way Regina Mills spoke Spanish made Emma's body feel molten.

Her lips flapped wordlessly as she tried to think of something to say, but nothing came out.

And then Regina's fingers slipped the knot loose at the waist of her coat and let the material fall open. That knot at the base of Emma's spine exploded, shooting around her abdomen and down so that it pooled and throbbed between her legs as she saw what the Mayor wore beneath the coat.

Crimson lingerie, paired perfectly with her bright red pumps.

Plump, perky breasts rested in lacy cups just waiting to be ripped away.

Little black silk bows teased at the peaks of curvaceous hips.

"Holy…" Emma choked on that single word alone.

Regina stalked further forward, a smirk teasing at her lips, before she was bending over Emma's chair. Her lips danced over Emma's, just barely grazing.

And then she latched onto the bottom lip and bit down hard.

Emma's back shot forward, hands rocketing up to Regina's sides as a moan ripped right from her very soul. She anchored her hands in the woman's hips and sucked in a sharp breath.

Regina then released her lip with a wet pop and whispered, "Te gusta eso?"

Emma panted hotly, Regina's voice alone taking her right to the edge. She leaned back in her chair and tugged on the Mayor's hips, eager to pull Regina into her lap.

A moment later, though, she was falling, having tilted the chair too far back, and then she was crashing.

Emma grunted roughly as she blinked her eyes open, rubbing grumpily at the sleep in her eyes. She tilted her head up just enough to realize that she was face down on the floor of her bedroom, her blankets tangled around her and a throb pulsing between her legs.

She groaned and tapped her forehead against the cold floor. Another damn dream.


	50. Chapter 50

**PROMPT: Henry brings his first real girlfriend home to meet his parents.**

"Look, they're _just_ my moms, okay?" Henry told his girlfriend as he drove them toward the Mayoral mansion. "It's not a big deal. Just relax."

"They're not _just _your moms, Henry," the petite girl replied with a roll of her eyes. "One of your moms is the former Evil Queen and the other is the Savior _and_ the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. That may not be a 'big deal' to you, but it _is _to virtually everyone else in this town."

Henry chuckled as he bent down to press a quick kiss to his girlfriend's cheek. Puberty had made him sprout like a weed, and he had quickly passed both his mothers in height. Now, at sixteen, he was as tall as his grandfather and even beginning to pack on similar muscle tone given all the horseback riding and sword-fighting lessons.

His girlfriend, though, was incredibly small, barely passing the five-foot mark. Then again, that made her countless times larger than what she had been in the old world, pre-curse. Had she remained that size, a relationship between them wouldn't have even been possible, let alone plausible.

The car rolled to a stop in the driveway. Henry unbuckled his seat belt, jumped out of the car, and ran around to get his girlfriend's door just like he'd seen his Ma do for his Mom countless times. When he opened the door and helped her out, he grabbed her hand and smiled at her.

"Just relax, okay?" he said softly. "It's gonna be fine, Lina."

Lina let out a huff as she quickly smoothed down her strawberry-blonde hair with her free hand and fluffed out the skirt of her soft blue sundress.

She then let Henry lead her up to the front door.

"Hello?" Henry called as he stepped into the house, his girlfriend trailing behind him and gripping his hand. "Mom? Ma?"

Emma's blonde head popped out of the kitchen doorway. "Oh, hey kid," she said with a genuine smile. "We're just finishing up dinner."

Henry arched a brow at her, and Emma laughed. "Okay, so your mom is finishing up dinner, but I'm like…cheering her on."

"Well, I guess that counts for something," Henry laughed out, and Emma cracked another smile. She stepped out into the foyer and pulled her son into a hug. He squeezed her for a moment, and when they let go, Henry tugged on his girlfriend's hand and encouraged her forward.

"Uh, Ma…" he said, suddenly not so terribly confident. His cheeks were red as he entwined his fingers with hers and said, "This is Lina, my uh…my girlfriend."

Emma just chuckled at Henry's embarrassment. She then smiled at the petite girl beside him and held out her hand. "Hey," Emma said, waiting for the girl to shake her hand.

A moment later, Lina did so and smiled in return. "It's lovely to meet you, Mrs. Swan-Mills."

"Oh, yikes," Emma said, laughing. "Mrs. Swan-Mills. That makes me sound really old. Just call me Emma, okay?"

"Okay," Lina said with another soft smile, her cheeks just as pink as Henry's.

It wasn't the first time that Emma had seen Henry's girlfriend. She and Regina had seen the girl at plenty of Henry's school events and a few times at Granny's, but this was the first time that they were actually meeting the girl formally. Henry had been a nervous wreck about it for two weeks, even though he tried to act like he wasn't.

Emma just thought the whole thing was hilarious.

"You know," Emma said, emerald eyes tracking back and forth between her son and his girlfriend, "you don't have to look so freaked out. We _are _just regular people."

"That's what _I _said," Henry laughed out nervously, "but she thinks that the whole former-Evil-Queen-and-Savior thing means you're both anything but 'regular'."

"Well I guess that's fair," Emma said, chuckling, "but then again, is _anyone _in this town 'regular'?" She pointed to the petite blonde. "You're a fairy-tale character yourself."

"That's true," Lina admitted quietly, blushing, "but I'm not royalty, and I'm not legendary."

"So," Emma said, shrugging, "that's just technical crap. None of that stuff means that we have to be anything but normal, except on the occasion that our son gets kidnapped to Neverland or something. Other than that, we're pretty regular people—we eat, sleep, watch TV, and so on. What did you expect? Magic and curses and sword-play the moment you walked through the door?"

Lina's cheeks only deepened in their growing blush, and Emma chuckled softly and reached out to pat her on the shoulder. "Just try to relax, okay?"

"Okay," Lina replied. "Thank you."

Emma nodded and clapped her hands together.

"So," she said, "you kids hungry?"

"Starved," Henry answered, and Lina simply nodded.

"Alright, well I think Regina is just about finished with dinner," Emma told them. Unable to help herself, she then teased Lina by saying, "Watch out for her right hand, though. One minute, she's handing you lasagna, and the next, it's a fireball."

Lina's eyes widened to the point of nearly jumping out of her face, and Emma just cracked up.

"Now, dear, let's not scare the poor girl to death," a voice sounded from behind them, and they each turned to see Regina hovering in the kitchen doorway with a gentle smile on her face. "Besides, you know I'm ambidextrous."

Emma and Henry cracked up even as Lina's eyes widened even further. Regina just chuckled softly as she stepped forward. "Apologies, dear," she said, smiling at the girl. "I was merely teasing."

Regina held out her hand, and Lina eyed it warily, but then she felt Henry's elbow nudging her and so she finally took it, letting out a soft sigh of relief when she felt no heat.

Regina laughed again. "It's nice to finally meet you, Thumbelina."


	51. Chapter 51

**PROMPT: Vampire Regina.**

The night was chill. She could tell not by the icy sensation dusting her flesh. She felt nothing of the air. The cold never touched her. Nor was it by any white-fog cloud of breath escaping her lungs. She had long ago ceased to breathe.

It was the heat that tipped her off, the heat of the crimson river slipping over the threshold of her supple lips and slithering down her throat. Human blood was always hotter when the heart pumped harder to heat the body.

She felt its rapid pulse as if it rested on her tongue as she lapped the muscle's tip over the two perfectly rounded puncture wounds in her hazy victim's slender neck and watched as they slowly closed, healing entirely. When no evidence of her feeding remained, Regina kissed the flesh gently and released the woman from her careful hold. She peered into the the woman's glossed eyes, taking hold, and whispered tenderly to her.

"When you awake, my dear," she commanded, her voice low and silky, "you will not remember my face or my touch or even my voice. You will remember only an easy, pleasant walk in the park, and then you will be on your way. Is this understood?"

The woman swayed on her feet as she remained captivated by Regina's dazzling chocolate eyes, and her lips moved wordlessly several times before she finally spoke. "Y-yes."

"Mm," Regina hummed, a smile touching her mouth, both stunning and predatory. "Good girl."

A moment later, the woman blinked rapidly, only to find that she was entirely alone. She rubbed unconsciously at her neck as she smiled to herself, enjoying the cold quiet of the night, and then headed home.

* * *

"Holy," came the quiet whisper as the bright red dot flashed in the corner of the screen, signifying that the camera was indeed recording.

Emma Swan had merely been walking through the park, steering clear of the designated path as usual, and had stopped to tie her shoe when all of this had begun. She'd been mostly hidden in the shadows of the trees and had only ducked further in when she'd heard the other woman's yelp. Emma had looked up just in time to see an incredibly magnetic brunette waving a hand over the other woman's face, and Emma had been shocked to see the woman's features settle into a strange sort of stupor.

The way the brunette moved…it was pure sex, and even from a distance, Emma felt drawn to her. It was shocking and terrifying, but nowhere near as much as when the brunette opened her mouth and two extended teeth glinted in the moonlight before sinking into the other woman's neck.

That was when the camera had come out.

Emma had captured nearly every bit of what had happened to that woman, and her heart was pounding in her chest, her breathing so rapid that the heated clouds it created fogged the camera screen.

"What the fuck _was_ that?" she muttered to herself, unable to stop the flood of panic filtering through her chest.

"_That _was supposed to be a secret," that same silky voice whispered, and Emma whirled around to find dark eyes somehow shining in the shadows of the trees.


	52. Chapter 52

**PROMPT: Regina finds out that Cora tried to take Emma's heart.**

"She tried to take her heart, you know."

Regina's breath slammed from her lungs as she whipped back around to face Snow White. "What?" she asked quietly, breathlessly.

They stood just outside Granny's diner, Regina having stormed off in a fury after a digging remark from Snow about her mother, but the pixie-haired woman had followed her out.

Snow's eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she nodded. "It was me she wanted, but Emma…she pushed me out of the way and your…_Cora _tried to take _her_ heart instead."

Regina's lips parted in a soft gasp, but before she could say anything, Snow began to talk quietly again.

"I saw her hand sink into my daughter's chest, Regina, and I thought…I thought…" Her voice cracked as she hesitated, but Regina finished softly for her.

"You thought you would have to watch her die," Regina whispered, her voice scratchy and raw, and Snow nodded, a singular tear slipping down her fair cheek.

"But love saved her," Snow finally managed to choke out. "Her magic…True Love; it saved her. Cora couldn't take her heart."

Regina gasped softly again, her own heart now racing wildly in her chest. The thought of her mother's hand in Emma Swan's chest ached inside her body in ways she didn't quite understand, or rather, in ways she hadn't been prepared to admit or accept. Her mind flashed back to all those years ago…that stable…that boy she loved so dearly…

"She was lucky," Snow whispered. "We were lucky, but it made me think about…"

Regina's eyes snapped up, glossy and reddened, and then Snow softly, so softly, whispered, "I'm so sorry, Regina."

Regina choked down her tears and shook her head, letting out a ragged sigh before turning on her heel and running from her past.

She was surprised, as she ran, to find that her heart was filled not with anger, and not with sorrow, but with fear.

True, rushing, electrifying fear.

And then she was standing in the middle of the Sheriff's station, staring wide-eyed at the back of Emma's head as the Sheriff sat at her desk and worked.

Emma didn't turn. She hadn't heard Regina's approach, and Regina made no sound, no move to capture the other woman's attention.

Instead, she merely stood there, tears stinging in her eyes and her heart aching in her chest.

She took a deep, quiet breath, taking in the sight only a moment longer.

Regina then let that breath out in the quietest, most precious sigh of relief, and walked quietly away.


	53. Chapter 53

**NO PROMPT.**

Snow locked gazes with the woman across from her and let all the love that she had ever felt for Regina flood her body and push out all the blackness that had seeped into it. "I think we've wasted our last day being haunted by the past."

"Now we can focus on being haunted by our impending lack of a future," Regina joked, only partially, because her sister posed a very real threat.

Snow shook her head. "Zelena isn't going to win, not with all of us united against her," she argued.

"Hope isn't easy when I know she holds my heart," Regina countered, shaking her head and trying to fight that steady stinging in her eyes, that tightness in her chest and throat.

"Which you'll get back, stronger than ever," Snow told her, sincere confidence lacing her voice. "That's what it means to be the most resilient."

Regina felt a spark of the love she had once felt for this woman, so long ago, flame to life inside her. Regardless of how many times Snow had called her evil or even claimed she deserved all the hatred and the punishments and the jeers, Snow had also _always _been the one cheering her on, hoping she would grow, hoping she would find that gentle woman buried so deep inside her. Snow had known that gentle woman still existed even when Regina herself had believed her dead.

Still, Regina fought against hopeful possibilities. Those had never been a true part of her history. She was unaccustomed to being positive. It had never worked well for her in the past. "That could be another one of her tricks too," she replied.

Snow shook her head subtly as she said, "Regina, I've seen what life has thrown at you, and you still fight against the darkness every single day."

Regina felt that tightness in her throat only growing tighter, that burning in her eyes forcing water to rise.

"Sooner or later," Snow told her, "your heart _will _find its way to happiness."

Regina's voice escaped her in a ragged whisper as a tear finally crested and slipped down her cheek. "That doesn't feel possible."

"But it is," Snow told her with complete conviction. She reached out and took Regina's hand, cradling it between both of her own. "I _know _you, and you feel things _deeply_. With or without it, you feel things with your whole soul."

They locked gazes as tears scorched down Regina's cheeks. Snow squeezed her hand reassuringly as she said, "Don't let anything hold you back."

Regina sucked in a sharp, staggered breath, letting it out in a ragged sigh as an image of only one person, one haunting opportunity, swam through her mind.

* * *

The small flames flickered as the cool breeze coming through the cracked windows threatened their lives, and Regina appeared in a cloud of purple smoke made richer in color by their gentle glow.

The body on the bed jumped at the sudden intrusion, eyes wide. "Regina?! What the hell?"

Regina's gaze absorbed every detail of a face she had grown so familiar with, so secretly fond of, of a body that had writhed beneath her own more than once. She swore she could feel her heart racing wildly inside her chest as she took a step forward even though she knew there existed only a hollow cavity beneath her ribs. "I know it was only ever supposed to be sex," she whispered, her eyes locking hard onto those across from her.

"Regi—"

Regina shook her head to cut off any protest, any interruption. She had only once chance to push these words through her lips, to force her soul into her voice and let it out.

Snow's words echoed in her mind in that moment as Regina took another small step forward.

_Don't let anything hold you back. _

This was her chance. This was her new beginning. This was everything.

"I know there were never supposed to be any strings," she continued. "You made it very clear that you never wanted anything more than physical to develop between us, and the moment that arrangement became even slightly threatened by something more, you ran. I know that."

"It wasn't—"

"Emma please," Regina whispered, tears falling freely down her cheeks as she held the glossy emerald gaze in front of her. "Let me get this out."

Emma sucked in a staggered breath, her throat closing around a moisture that was fighting its way up to her eyes. Her heart pounded so heavily in her chest that she feared it might just break free at any moment and fall to the floor at Regina's feet.

"I don't know where we stand now," Regina told her quietly, voice cracking. "Everything is so different since the curse. I…so much has happened in the last year, and while I can't say that I have any idea what you've been through or what your plans are or even how you feel, I _can _say how_ I_ feel."

Regina's fingertips itched to touch and a moment later, her hand rested atop Emma's chest, feeling the frantic rhythm beneath the thin material of the blonde's t-shirt. She looked up into those deep green eyes again and quietly laid bare her soul.

"I'm in love with you," she confessed in a wet rush of breath, and Regina was so surprised by how incredible it felt to whisper those words, that she nearly laughed. A small smile tugged at her lips and sparkled in her dark eyes as she nodded in response to Emma's shocked, conflicted expression.

"I've been in love with you for…" Regina hesitated, unsure of how long she had actually loved this woman. Gods, it seemed she had loved her for a lifetime, even though she knew that wasn't true. Still, the next word out of her mouth was, "…forever."

She watched as a single salted drop escaped the corner of an emerald eye and slipped silently down a fair cheek, and a moment later, Regina felt slender fingers wrap around her own, still resting on Emma's chest.


	54. Chapter 54

**PROMPT: Regina finds Emma sleepwalking. Established SQ.**

"Henry," Regina called from the kitchen as she glanced her son walking by.

The teenager popped his head in a moment later. "Yeah, Mom?"

Regina smiled at him. She was still getting accustomed to his deep register. Once he had gone through puberty, his voice had significantly lowered, not to mention the boy had shot up a good two feet and was now as tall as his charming grandfather. Regina was always surprised by his deep voice regardless of how many times she had heard it, because to her, he would always be her baby boy.

"Did you need something?" he asked her.

"No, dear," she told him, shaking her head as she wiped her hands on her apron. "I just wanted to thank you for the chores you did, and without being asked. I was quite impressed, so I'm adding a bonus to your weekly allowance."

"Uh..." Henry's mouth gaped for a moment, but before he could recover, Regina called him on it.

"It wasn't you?"

"If I'm honest and say no, do I still get the extra allowance for my candor?" he asked her, and Regina chuckled.

"Sometimes, I am truly shocked that my blood does not run in your veins."

"Me too, Mom," Henry laughed out, shaking his head. "Me too."

"Was it your mother then?" Regina then asked.

"I mean, I doubt it," Henry said, chuckling. "You know how much she hates chores, but unless Anna aged like ten years overnight, crawled out of her crib, and folded the laundry or whatever, there's not really anyone else who could have done it."

Regina rolled her eyes as Henry laughed at his own little joke. "Okay," she said. "Go get washed up before dinner, and check on your sister, please. I put her down for a nap about an hour ago."

"Will do," Henry said as he headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

When Emma arrived home a few minutes later, Regina called her into the kitchen as well.

"Hey babe," the blonde said as she wrapped her arms around her wife and planted a kiss on her temple. "Smells good."

"Thank you," Regina replied, returning the kisses. "And thank you for the chores you did."

"Uh, what chores?" Emma asked.

Regina huffed out a breath. "Seriously? What, is the house magically coming to life at night and doing the chores for us?"

Emma laughed, but then her face got really serious. "Hey, you know that really did happen in the Beast's castle in The Beauty and the Beast movie."

Regina scoffed. "Yes, dear, but we are not in a castle, nor are we in a movie for that matter, and Rumple _would _be lazy enough to enchant his entire castle to do such things."

"Well, it wasn't me, babe."

"Very well."

* * *

Regina jerked awake in the middle of a strange and disturbing dream. "Ugh," she groaned. "Emma, I had that disgusting dream about Rumple and my mother again."

When she didn't hear laughter from her wife, Regina threw her hand out to smack the blonde awake to talk, but her hand met nothing but cold sheets. Regina sat up quickly and glanced around her large room in the dark.

"Darling?" She called, but heard nothing in return. She slipped out of bed. Emma wasn't in the bathroom or the closet. She wasn't in their room at all, so Regina suspected the blonde had gone down to the kitchen for a late-night snack.

When Regina stepped into the kitchen, she was surprised to find her wife not snacking, but cleaning.

Emma's eyes were glazed over but open as she swiped a wet rag over the counter tops.

"Emma?" Regain asked, brows furrowing. "What the hell are you doing?"

She was answered with nothing but silence.

"Emma!" Regina snapped, and still nothing.

She walked over to her wife then and snapped in front of her face. Emma didn't even blink. She simply continued to wipe down the counters, over and over, until they were spotless.

"Emma!" Regina practically shouted then, because she was really starting to get freaked out. She then shoved her wife's shoulder.

"AAAAGGHHH!" Emma suddenly shouted, jumping away from Regina, and banging into the counter. The rag she had been cleaning with went flying into the air, and Regina screamed just as loudly, jumping away from Emma.

A moment later, Emma blinked several times and glanced around the kitchen, confused.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed. "What the hell is going on?"

Regina was too freaked out to answer. She just gaped at her wife.

"Regina?" Emma inched toward her. "Are you okay?"

"Darling," Regina said a moment later, "you have serious issues."

Emma chuckled. "What do you mean?"

"I think you've been sleepwalking."

"What? No I haven't."

"Yes, you have," Regina countered. "I just found you down here cleaning, and you were in a trance until I pushed you."

"Whoa," Emma said. "Seriously?"

"Has that never happened before?" Regina asked.

"Uh, not since I was a kid," Emma told her. "So weird."

They nodded together, glancing around the kitchen, and then Emma just burst into laughter. "I guess now you know who's been doing the chores. It _was _me after all."

"Mm," Regina hummed, chuckling. "You should sleepwalk more often, dear."


	55. Chapter 55

**PROMPT: Regina eats pot brownies.**

A quiet knocking on her office door caught Regina off guard. She glanced up at the clock to find that it was rather late, a little before nine. She had long ago sent her secretary home, so she knew this couldn't be an appointment. Who could possibly be coming to visit her?

"Come in," she called, and her expression hardened as Emma Swan's head poked through the door.

"Ms. Swan," Regina drawled.

"Come on, Regina," Emma groaned as she stepped further in, carrying a small tray covered with aluminum foil. "I'm sorry about agreeing to let Henry go camping with Neal without asking you. It won't ever happen again, but please don't go back to calling me Ms. Swan. We've had a good friendship going since Neverland."

Regina arched a brow but said nothing, so Emma sighed and pulled the aluminum foil back to reveal a plate full of delicious-looking double-chocolate brownies.

"I brought a peace offering," the blonde said, grinning.

"You don't bake," Regina said, "and I don't eat foods made by Snow White."

"I made them myself, I swear," Emma told her. "I can follow a recipe."

Regina sniffed dismissively. "Well, I don't eat sweets."

"That's bull," Emma argued. "You have a secret stash of chocolate bars under the false bottom in your lower right drawer." She pointed toward Regina's desk and Regina's cheeks flushed a bright pink.

"How did you—"

"I totally snooped through your stuff like right after I came to Storybrooke," Emma confessed. "Sorry. I ate one of the Snickers."

Regina rolled her eyes, and Emma brought the brownies over to her desk. "I worked hard on them. Please just eat a few and accept my apology."

The brownies did smell delicious, and Regina's stomach was rumbling. "Well, since you're begging," she said and reached for a brownie.

Emma just laughed and reached for one as well as she settled into the chair opposite Regina. She watched the Mayor carefully, a ripple of excitement dancing through her gut as Regina bit into the first brownie and hummed her approval.

This was going to be good.

* * *

An hour later, Regina and Emma were relaxed on the sofa in front of Regina's office fireplace. Regina cackled loudly as she regaled Emma with the tale of Snow's first period.

"And she burst into my chambers, face red and soaked with her tears, and wailed, 'Regina, I've been fatally wounded!'"

Emma snorted with laughter as the image sketched itself into her mind.

"And she actually then proceeded to drop her underpants to the floor to show me the evidence. It was mortifying for us both."

"Wait, wait," Emma laughed out, "what did you guys call the period again?"

Regina smiled goofily. "Gods, it was absurd. We called it the 'monthly flower'."

Emma burst into laughter again. "That is so lame. Like your vagina is a garden!"

Regina's face was entirely red as she just laughed and laughed ridiculously.

"We should make little innuendos about it next time we see her together," Emma laughed out. "See how many times we an allude to monthly flowers and VAGetable gardens before she clues in."

Regina choked on her own saliva she laughed so hard at Emma's play on words. "Oh gods, she would never get it. No offense, dear, but your mother is terribly dense."

Emma tried to look offended but couldn't hold the expression and she and Regina cracked up all over again.

"Goodness," Regina said, pressing a hand to her temple. "I must have had too much cider. I'm feeling a bit fuzzy."

Emma just burst into loud laughter all over again.

"What's so funny?" Regina asked, giggling for no reason.

Emma pointed to the empty plate that held only brownie crumbs. "I put pot in the brownies."

Regina's mouth formed a perfect "O" as she gaped at Emma. The blonde laughed but said, "Don't be mad. I just wanted us to be able to hang out and have a good time."

Regina gasped, delayed, and said, "I'm calling the Sheriff!" She then leaned over, smacked Emma's shoulder, and sing-songed, "Sheeeeeriff!"

They then both burst into laughter all over again.


	56. Chapter 56

**PROMPT: The gang is in Neverland, and Emma sees Regina doing morning yoga exercises.**

Emma jerked awake from yet another nightmare. They had been constant since arriving in the jungle inferno that was Neverland, and they were always the same—Regina sacrificing her life to save Henry. The only thing that ever changed was the circumstance—poison arrow, random spells, even being pushed over a damn cliff.

Regardless, Emma always woke up with her heart racing in her chest and her cheeks damp.

She glanced around to see that the early morning light was only just beginning to peek through the jungle canopy, and everyone was spread out on their makeshift pallets around the faintly smoking logs that had burned brightly the night before.

Then it hit her. Someone was missing. Her eyes scanned over her parents, folded around one another, the small mountain of black leather that was Hook, and then…

Regina.

Emma's heart shot into her throat. Regina was missing.

She tried to calm herself because maybe the former queen had just woken up needing to pee or something. Yeah, Emma told herself, that had to be it. Surely Regina was just off in the nearby shrubbery, relieving herself. She would be back any minute.

Any minute.

Nope. Emma couldn't wait for her. She had to go looking for the woman. The nightmares had her too spooked not to.

Emma's breath slammed from her lungs in relief after only a few moments of wandering through the jungle when she came upon a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing was none other than the former Evil Queen bent at the waist, feet and hands planted on the jungle floor, and ass up in the air.

Emma's relief quickly gave way to confusion as she watched Regina hold that position. She took a moment to admire Regina's body. The woman had taken off her blazer and was clad in only a thin shirt and her pants. She was even barefoot.

"What are you doing?" Emma finally blurted after a moment.

Regina nearly toppled over, surprised. She eased out of her position and turned to face Emma. Her expression was pure annoyance as she asked, "Why are you awake?"

"I woke up and you were gone," Emma said, shrugging.

"So you came looking for me?"

"Well yeah," Emma said, shrugging again.

Regina was quiet for a moment, a small smile touching her lips. "Downward-facing Dog," she finally said.

Emma's face scrunched with her confusion before she chuckled awkwardly and replied, "Uh, Upward-flying WoodPecker."

Regina rolled her eyes but couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her. "It's yoga, Emma."

Emma just laughed. "I didn't know you did yoga."

"You don't know many things about me, dear."

Emma smirked as she sauntered forward. "Why do you do it? A work out?"

Regina tilted her head. "Stress relief, I suppose."

"Ah," Emma said, nodding. Her eyes scanned down Regina's body again. "Yoga is okay, but there are better ways to relieve stress, you know?"

She hadn't meant for her voice to come out so low and raspy but it definitely had. She couldn't regret it though when it earned her a radiant blush from the other woman.


	57. Chapter 57

**PROMPT: Neal's funeral. Everyone is trying to calm Emma down, but she, in front of everyone, runs into Regina's embrace and finds comfort with her.**

As that lone voice droned on about a life well lived and final goodbyes, Emma's mind burned with memories that often felt seared into her soul. She closed her eyes against the rolling wave of grief that roared in her gut and in her heart. She closed her eyes against the pitying glances cast her way by the woman beside her—her friend, her roommate, her mother. She closed her eyes against the dark angles of a casket, against the mounds of dirt too near her feet.

The images rushed back to her like an angry tide intent on collecting her bones and washing her out to sea.

Neal was the tide. He had always been the tide in various forms—her rocking lullaby, her constant motion, her salted moisture, her mysterious intrigue, her cool relief, her violent crashing, her dark abyss; ever changing, but always constant. Even when his absence beat painfully in her chest, he still remained within her—a haunt of remembrance on her flesh and in her heart.

He had been the first constant in her life, the first gentle caress.

His touch had been her harbor. His love had been her home. His abandonment had stung the worst. His return had burned and soothed all at once.

She saw his face, young and so full of life, weathered and burdened by grief, full of sorrow, full of love…full.

For a time, Neal Cassidy had been her everything, her entire world.

She had seen that world flicker away inside his dying eyes as he fell limp in her arms.

And now he was gone. Gone. Gone.

Heads turned in her direction, eyes widened with surprise, as a heart-wrenching moan ripped up from Emma's throat unbidden.

Tears spilled down her cheeks as the sound emanating from her soul echoed through the quiet cemetery, and she was deaf to it.

She didn't feel the moisture on her cheeks, didn't hear the ragged cries crawling over her lips and scattering in the breeze.

But she felt the hands on her arms—her mother, her father, her son. She felt their weight, and it was too heavy.

Emma's eyes shot open as she shrugged those hands away, her entire body shaking with all that she had held so forcibly down, all that she had buried so deeply for years and years.

Her hazy emerald eyes glanced wildly around as all in attendance watched her, pitying her, and it stung. Every look stung on her flesh, made her long for the cool relief of running, creating wind with her own escape.

But she couldn't run from this, not this, not now. She was trapped, and everywhere she turned, she was met with those same pitying stares that only reminded her of the loss, opening those wounds over and over.

And then she found Regina's eyes, the woman standing just beyond her parents, her head slightly bowed, but her chocolate eyes were locked on Emma. And there was no pity there, only…understanding.

Emma's feet moved of their own accord, her heart pushing her toward the other woman, toward what seemed to be the only haven in that dark and cutting abyss.

"Emma," she heard her mother say, but she ignored it. She saw Regina's eyes widen for only a moment as the brunette realized that she was Emma's intended target, and then Emma was barreling into Regina's body.

She wrapped so forcefully around the woman that Regina stumbled backwards before regaining her balance. Her arms sat stiffly at her sides at first as that blonde head buried into the crook of her neck and hair, and then she felt Emma's body shaking against her, and she reacted.

Regina's arms came up, hesitantly at first but then with ease, and wrapped around Emma's torso tightly. Her eyes locked briefly with Snow's over Emma's shoulder, but she saw the shock and sorrow there, and then the pity that she still felt sting in her own soul decades after the loss of her own first love.

She closed her eyes and blocked out the sight, blocked out the world, and simply held Emma Swan, rubbing her hands slowly up and down the woman's back as Emma wept into her hair and trembled against her chest.

She could feel everyone watching them, surprised that any would seek out the Evil Queen for comfort, but Regina found she didn't care. In this moment, she was exactly what Emma needed, and that feeling brought her lips to Emma's ear, brought her heart to the surface.

"I've got you."


	58. Chapter 58

**PROMPT: Biting**

"Ow!" Emma shrieked suddenly. "Son of a—"

"Emma!" Regina hissed quickly, and Emma swallowed the swear before it could jump out of her mouth.

Emma bent down and scooped up her son. He giggled as she pulled his small, wiggling body into her lap. "Little ankle biter," she said, tickling his belly. She then looked up at her wife and said, "Literally. He bit my ankle, and it hurt."

Regina smirked and couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her. "He got my finger yesterday," she replied. "It actually bled."

"Geez," Emma laughed out. "Did we make a little vampire or something?"

Regina suddenly burst into loud laughter, and Emma's face scrunched in confusion. "It wasn't _that_ funny, babe."

Regina just kept laughing and pointed at their son. Emma glanced down to find him happily munching on her hair.


	59. Chapter 59

**PROMPT: Emma earning her titles of Savior/White Knight and Idiot. SwanQueen banter, please.**

"It was YOUR ridiculous idea in the first place," Regina huffed loudly so that she could be heard over the roaring rain, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, sure, and you were just SO against it, weren't you?" Emma countered, rolling her eyes.

Regina turned in her seat to glare at her girlfriend. "I don't recall being stuck in a massive mud pile in the middle of a thunderstorm as being part of the deal, dear; otherwise, I certainly WOULD have been against it."

"You knew the forecast said it was supposed to storm today," Emma argued, "and you still agreed."

"You said you wanted to take me 'parking'," Regina said, rolling her eyes and throwing up air quotes. "I didn't know that you apparently meant permanent parking in a pond-sized puddle of mud from which there is no escape!"

"Well you certainly weren't complaining about where I parked when I parked my head between your legs earlier," Emma quipped, and Regina's cheeks flushed a soft pink.

"You are an insufferable idiot."

"Obviously not too insufferable," Emma countered, "since you've been dating me for six months now."

Regina glared at her again. "Yes, and I'm beginning to question my sanity."

Emma snorted with laughed. "You're just NOW questioning your sanity?"

Regina said nothing, simply narrowing her eyes to intensify her glare. Emma merely rolled her eyes, and said, "Fine. You keep mulling over your sanity then while I actually DO SOMETHING about our situation."

She then climbed out of the Bug, and Regina watched as the blonde became almost instantly soaked to the bone. Her clothes clung to her body in a way that made Regina's stomach clench hotly.

Emma checked out all the tires, sloshing around in the mud, before she opened the driver's door again and shifted the Bug into neutral. She was fairly certain she could roll the car out of the mud, since it wasn't dug in too deep.

She dug her heels into the mud as she pushed at the back of the car over and over. It took a good fifteen minutes, but she finally managed to push the Bug enough that she could drive it out.

When she crawled back into the car, soaked to the bone and muddy, she turned to find Regina smirking at her, brow arched.

"What?" Emma blurted.

Regina clasped her hands together dramatically and mockingly said, "My Savior."

Emma just grinned at her. "You're an ass."

"I know," Regina said, smirking. She then leaned across the console and pressed a kiss to Emma's soaked cheek. "But I love you."


	60. Chapter 60

**PROMPT: Regina has many sleepless nights crying over Henry once he and Emma return to Storybrooke from New York. Emma goes to check on her and comforts her.**

It was the sixth night that Emma had called Regina. Neither bothered to ponder why, simply accepting that it was becoming a habit. Ever since the blonde's return to Storybrooke and Regina's discovery that her son did not remember her, Emma had felt strangely tethered to the woman.

Like she needed to fix everything somehow. Like she needed to make it right. There simply was no way to do that, though, so Emma called. She called every night of that first week.

Sometimes it was only a few words—_I'm sorry, Regina. I'm sorry._

Sometimes it was an entire story—_And he has friends in New York. One night, he brought a whole bunch of them over for a pizza party and video games, and he was so…_

Sometimes it was silence, just breath.

Sometimes, it was gratitude—_What you gave me, Regina…I…thank you._

And on that sixth night, it didn't feel like enough. The hard plastic of her phone felt too impersonal against her ear and cheek. She needed to see Regina, comfort her if she could, the way that Regina had done her best to provide her and Henry with comfort that day at the town line, a comfort that could have lasted them a lifetime.

Regina's sorrowed words, her labored breaths echoing through the phone, always ached in Emma's chest, and she simply could no longer take it. She needed to be closer.

She hung up the phone without a word, grabbed her jacket and keys, and after checking that Henry was still asleep, she made her way out of Granny's and toward Mifflin Street.

She knocked on the door, over and over, until it finally swung open to reveal Regina's red-rimmed eyes and streaked cheeks.

"Emma," she greeted raggedly.

"Let me stay," Emma said without hesitation, her chest clenching tightly as Regina's sorrow seemed to thicken the air.

"What?" Regina whispered, staring at the blonde.

Emma sucked in a deep breath and let it out in a quiet sigh. "Let me stay with you tonight."

She was amazed at how easily Regina relented and allowed her to stay, and she was even more surprised when Regina voiced no protest as Emma followed her up the stairs and over the threshold into Regina's bedroom. Her heart pounded in her chest as Regina allowed her to slip off her clothes, down to her underwear and tank top, and slide beneath the covers of the brunette's bed.

Nothing quite rocked her soul as much, though, as when Regina rolled over and crawled into Emma's embrace, seeking her warmth and comfort.

Emma wrapped around her and pressed a gentle kiss to Regina's temple. "We'll find a way to make it right, Regina," she whispered. "I promise."

Regina looked up at her then, tears shimmering in the moonlight streaming through the window. "Why do you care?"

"Because I care about _you_," Emma told her easily. "When I took that potion, Regina…the first person I remembered wasn't Snow or David or Hook or Ruby. It was _you_. I care about you, maybe more than I ever realized."

She felt Regina's fingertips hesitantly trace over her neck and then her cheek as those dark eyes looked into her. "I thought I would never see you again," Regina whispered.

Emma's expression was solemn and serious as she held Regina's gaze in the dark and whispered, "I'm not going anywhere."


	61. Chapter 61

**PROMPT: Regina leaves Emma anonymous love notes (before they get together). When Emma realises it's her she's happy because she wanted it to be (though considered Neal, Hook etc).**

When Emma walked into the station to find yet another small white envelope on her desk, she smiled as a rush of excitement spilled through her chest. She had been finding these little anonymous love notes in various places for two weeks now—on her desk, stuck under the windshield wiper of her Bug, in her parents' mailbox with her name typed on the front of the envelope, even on her pillow on her bed.

She didn't have a clue who was sending them, but she couldn't deny how good they made her feel. She thought at first that they might be from Hook, but given that they were cleanly typed on a computer and never addressed her as "Swan", "love", or "lass", she had quickly ruled him out.

The only other person that stood out in her mind was Neal. He was computer savvy, so it made sense, but it definitely didn't seem like something he would do. He had always been a straightforward kind of person, and he wasn't being shy about his affection for her, so why leave anonymous love notes?

Still, Emma couldn't think of any other person in Storybrooke that it could possibly be. No one else had shown any interest in her, had they? She didn't think so, but the mystery was intriguing, regardless.

The first note had thoroughly surprised her, and had been quite simple but still incredibly sweet.

_You make me feel clean again. You make me feel new. When I look at you, I don't see the past. I see the future. _

She thought of Hook, because he had mentioned once how hard it had been for him to let go of the past, but that he felt he could with her. But the fact that the notes were typed made her question the origin, because Hook didn't understand jello, let alone computers.

The second, which she found in her parents' mailbox, was just as sweet, and even a little funny, and that's when she thought that perhaps it might be Neal, given the content.

_Given our history, I'm sure your parents would never really approve of me, but honestly, I don't give a damn. I can be a better person with you, for you. _

Emma had collected the many notes that followed, each with a short, sweet, and sometimes incredibly moving message. She put them all in a small box that she kept under her bed.

The seventh note had been the one that really struck her.

_I know I have hurt you in the past. I have hurt many people, including myself, but I don't want to be that person anymore. You see me when no one else does, and I see you. The parts of you that you think are ugly, the parts you try to hide, I see them, and they are beautiful to me._

She had found the tenth note on her pillow, which made her wonder how the person had gotten it into her room to begin with. Still, she had eagerly opened the note, and her cheeks had instantly flushed upon reading the message.

_Every time I see you, I imagine what it would be like to touch you, skin to skin. I imagine what it would be like to feel your lips on mine. I imagine what it would be like to be inside you, to make love to you. I always imagine that you would taste like perfection._

Emma smiled as she thought of that one and plopped down into her desk chair. She had nearly ruled Neal out with that one, because they had slept together already before, but then she thought maybe he meant after so many years or was just trying to be sexy or romantic.

She reached for the latest note and peeled it from the envelope.

_You are so much more beautiful than you realize, even in beanies and leather jackets. _

Emma chuckled at that one as it warmed her heart and created a smile that she knew would be plastered across her lips for hours. She glanced around the station, looking for another flash of white. In the last three days, she had begun to find multiple notes per day, usually three or four. She saw none, though, and her chest ached with disappointment.

An hour later, though, when Emma was just heading out of the station to run over to Granny's for coffee, she froze just inside the door, still hidden partially as her gaze zeroed in on her car. A cloud of purple smoke swirled through the air by her yellow Bug, and then suddenly Regina Mills was standing beside the vehicle.

Emma's heart began to race as she watched the brunette glance quickly around before pulling a familiar small white envelope from her pocket and stuffing it under Emma's windshield wiper. A moment later, and the woman disappeared in another cloud of purple.

"Holy shit," Emma muttered to herself, her head spinning and her heart a sudden mess of emotions. She had never dared dream that it might be Regina. She had always believed her feelings for the woman to be unrequited, but now there was irrefutable proof that they weren't.

She mulled over all the notes in her head, and they suddenly made so much sense.

It had been Regina all along. Regina Mills was in love with her.

Emma practically sprinted to her Bug then, and ripped open the envelope.

_I never thought I would find love again, but you make me believe again._

Emma's heart raced and tears sprang into her eyes. This was really happening. She clutched the paper to her chest as she closed her eyes and a single tear slipped down over her soft smile.

* * *

Regina walked into Granny's diner, avoiding the stares that were typical whenever she entered any public establishment. She made her way to the counter to order her morning coffee, and greeted Ruby.

"Miss Lucas," she said with a tilt of her head. "I would like my—"

"Usual?" Ruby asked, grinning at her.

Regina was a little disturbed by the wide smile, but she nodded nonetheless. "Yes, thank you."

Regina's brows shot into her hairline when Ruby slid a to-go cup to her, the cup seated atop a small white envelope.

"What's this?" she asked, and Ruby simply shrugged.

Regina pulled the envelope from beneath the cup and opened it to find a small note with only two words scrawled across the paper.

_Turn around._

Regina's brows furrowed as she slowly turned around to find Emma Swan standing just behind her.

She held up the note and mouthed wordlessly before she managed to ask, "What's this about?"

Emma smiled and covered the short distance between them. And then there, in front of everyone, she grabbed Regina's waist and yanked the woman flush against her.

Regina searched her eyes almost desperately, pleadingly, and then Emma's lips covered hers in a gentle caress. Regina's eyes fluttered closed as a soft moaning sigh escaped her and echoed in Emma's mouth.

When they separated a moment later, Regina's eyes hazy and Emma's sparkling with her joy, the blonde cupped Regina's cheek and whispered, "_You_ make _me_ believe again."


End file.
